Mirror of the Dragon
by constellationgazer
Summary: originally Tales of Constellations. What if Hermione wasn't just a witch? What if she was a Dragon Master, and the mate of a very charming Veela Draco? What if there was a new prophecy, an unknown potion, and an unfamiliar spell? Please give my first story a chance, and tell me what you think!
1. Unexpected meetings

**Author's Note:**

**This is my first fanfiction so please review;) Please give constructive feedback and not slam me**** it woule be much appreciated. Thank you3**

Hermione's POV:

Hermione Granger stepped onto Platform 9 and 3/4, her cloak billowing behind her as the wind breezed past her. It was the end of another summer for her and she was going back to school for her final year. She waved to her best friends, Ronald Weasley and Harry Potter, who had been living at the Burrow for the whole of the summer, whereas she had been spending time with her parents in America. Over the summer, she was pleased that her boyfriend Ron had grown taller and more muscular from playing Quidditch. He had gotten more handsome and masculine-looking, and from the scrawny boy whom everyone teased, to become a boy with decent looks and also made several heads turn. She ran forward and embraced her best friend, and pecked her boyfriend on his lips.

"Hey 'Mione, how was your summer?" Without waiting for an answer, Ron continued on, "You will never believe what Harry and I had to do at the Burrow, Mum went crazy I swear with all the…."

Hermione rolled her eyes at her boyfriend's chattery nature, and heaved her suitcase into the compartment which she was sharing with Harry, Ron, Luna, Ginny and Neville. She was just trying out the different flavours of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans when the prefect Ernie Macmillian slid open the compartment glass door and stuck his head in.

"Hey Hermione, you should get to the Heads Compartment now, Professor McGonagall wants to meet you and the Head Boy." He left immediately after that. Hermione shook her head mentally, berating herself silently for forgetting such an important meeting, her first head girl meeting with her Head of House regarding her responsibilities and such.

"So Mione, you never told us you made Head Girl" Harry said, bringing her head back from amongst the clouds.

"Sorry guys, I've completely forgotten about this, I've been so busy over the past few months. I went to England with my parents and we went sightseeing so much that I didn't read the letter in depth. In fact, I just remembered that a badge fell out of the envelope and I put it on without really looking at it, although it did cross my mind at one point that it was in the shape of a Head Girl badge" Hermione mumbled out, still trying to figure out who the Head Boy was.

If Harry had not been made Head Boy, and neither had Ron or Ernie, then who could be the Head Boy? she thought to herself. Well, she thought, at least I hope it wouldn't be some Slytherin like Blaise Zabini, I swear that guy has less brain cells than a maggot. Going out school swaggering like he is some god, ha Zabini, if you are Head Boy, I will make your life a living hell!"

Still lost in her thoughts, she stood up and walked stonily out of the glass sliding door, oblivious to the concerned looks that Ron and Harry were shooting her. She walked along the corridor of the train, and finally reached a golden door at the end of the hallway. Taking a deep breath, and praying with every fibre in her body that the Head Boy would at least be a pleasant boy with at least half a brain, she shakily reached out her hand and opened the door. The first thing she noticed was a tall, lean boy sitting in a chair in front of a wooden table, his hair a sharp golden blonde colour, which could only mean one thing…

"MALFOY!" Hermione screeched, her voice going 3 octaves higher than normal. Then everything went black.

Draco's POV:

Draco Malfoy sat in the Head Boy compartment idly, staring out the window and basically trying to recall everything that had happened during the summer after the Dark Lord's downfall.

He had gone home to Malfoy Manor for the summer, and he had been all alone with his mother and his house elves for the entire summer. The war was over, leaving his family reputation in shreds due to the recent article on the news of Lucius getting the kiss. The East Wing of the Manor held many bad memories for Draco, having had to watch his schoolmates the Weasel, Scar-head and the Beaver get caught. Even though Draco had spent the last 6 years of his life teasing the Mudblood, as he used to call Granger, he still felt a pang in his heart when he saw his aunt sear the insulting word "Mudblood" into Granger's skin. He had blamed himself for going soft at that moment, but now, looking back, he thought that no one deserved that fate and also felt a little guilty about not helping his schoolmates, although he couldn't explain what he had felt.

Narcissa had surprisingly dealt with the death of her husband well, not really mourning after receiving the news about his sentence. Instead, she was quite a joy to be around, to Draco, as she spent most of her time and energy on rebuilding the destroyed parts of the Manor, such that the mansion was now fully refurbished and had no more of the cold and dark atmosphere it used to possess. The house now carried a cheerful and chirpy atmosphere, such that birdsong was heard from the trees every morning that surrounded the Manor. Draco enjoyed his mother's company, for she was never one to dwell on the past and rather focused on the present and was intent on gaining the reputation of the Malfoy name back. She had brightened up the house considerably, and had seemingly changed the house such that when Draco visited his father's study, he was no longer plagued by memories of his endless beatings given by his father.

To be honest, Draco was glad that his father had been sentenced to the Dementor's kiss. Lucius was never a good father to Draco, treating him more like an object than his son. Draco frequently got punished by his father for not achieving first in his year, but honestly, how did he expect his son to top the year with the know-it-all Granger who never seemed to lift her bushy head from books? After his father's death, Draco kept finding himself wondering why he had hated Granger so much in their years together at school. Up till then, he had been completely convinced that Granger was a mudblood and was lower than him. But now, he thought, does blood even matter? But Draco still despised Granger for putting him through years and years of suffering with his father, all because of grades that were only one to two marks apart. Ugh, Draco groaned, what did the brightest witch of her age know about his life and tortures? Surely the buck-tooth, shaggy haired Granger didn't know about what he faced at home. I really dunno what the Weasel sees in her honestly, he thought, untamed hair, know-it-all, seriously…

Draco was startled out of his thoughts by a loud shriek of his name. He whipped around, so hard that he thought his neck would break. He was shocked to find the Granger, whom he had been thinking about, lying on the ground unconscious. He cautiously stood up and walked over to her side, slowly kneeling down to her side. One look at her and he knew he had been wrong. Hermione had grown up from the little snobby bookworm that everyone knew. Her body had taken shape over the summer and her legs went on for miles. Her lightly tanned legs had grown longer and her hair had been tamed, slowly straightening out though still retaining the curls at the end. Draco was surprised to see that she was much more beautiful than she was before.

To his shock, Draco realised what he had been thinking, and cursed himself. Draco Malfoy, what are you thinking, he silently berated himself, she's the know-it-all bookworm in the Golden Trio, and she's best friends with that Potter and the Weasel, AND she's a mudblood for crying out loud. But the little voice in his head knew better and said, "Really Draco, I thought you had let go of blood prejudices already, you know you find her attractive."

Draco was shaken out of his internal battle with his thoughts when he heard the professor's voice coming from outside the compartment. Oh shit, Draco thought, Hermione has fainted and the professor is coming. I better help her up onto the chair and then explain to the professor. With that, Draco grabbed Hermione around the waist and hoisted her onto the nearby chair, surprised that she was light as a feather. He quickly composed himself and put on his cold façade before the compartment door slid open, revealing a very angry Professor McGonagall.

Shit. Draco was screwed. She believed that I made her faint. She is going to scold me, oh here she goes.

"Well Mr Malfoy, care to explain what happened to our Head Girl?"

"Uh, well, professor, you see, um… she came in…screamed my name and then fell to the floor...um…in a dead faint…"

"Is that so, Mr Malfoy?"

"Yes."

"And nothing else happened? You had nothing to do with this?"

"No."

"You sure, Mr Malfoy?"

Malfoy was getting very angry with the professor. Did she honestly think he would just jinx Granger and then tell a lie. He was not his father! He opened his mouth to retort, when suddenly a small groan came from Granger and she slowly blinked open her eyes, shaking her head and trying to sit up. She was struggling when Draco stuck his hand out and offered it to her, silently asking her to grab his hand so that he could hoist her up. She hesistated for a moment, staring into his eyes and making sure that he had no other intentions before accepting it, allowing him to pull her up.

"Thank you," she murmured.

"You're welcome," Draco smirked.

"Well Miss Granger, would you kindly explain to us what happened to you?" McGonagall suddenly spoke, causing Granger to jump slightly as she had not known that her favourite professor was already in the room.

"Yes, Granger," drawled Draco, "kindly explain to the professor that I had nothing to do with your unfortunate incident."

"Nothing…Nothing to do with the incident?" sputtered Granger," YOU HAD EVERYTHING TO DO WITH THE INCIDENT YOU SLIMY LITTLE FERRET! AND WIPE THAT DISGUSTING SMIRK OFF YOUR FACE THIS INSTANT!"

"Whoa, what did I do, I was merely minding my own business when you came in, screamed my name, and fell to the floor. I suppose my looks have improved greatly through the summer, but there's no reason for you to fall to my feet due to my amazingness. Honestly, Granger, I know girls fall to their feet when they see me, but fainting, that's a first." Draco smirked again just to annoy her.

"Alright, you two, stop arguing with each other. Miss Granger, I'm appalled at your use of language, apologise this instant. Mr Malfoy, really, stop smirking, you apologise to Miss Granger for annoying her" McGonagall sighed tiredly.

"Sorry."

"Sorry…not."

"Really Mr Malfoy, just apologise so that we can get on to your head duties." McGonagall closed her eyes, breathing in deeply.

"Sorry." He smirked.

Hermione merely rolled her eyes at him.

Professor McGonagall opened her eyes and snapped," Now that you two are done with your silly antics, here's what you need to know about Head Duties. Firstly, you will have to work closely together this year to organize events such as the Yule Ball and the Halloween Ball, and you must show that you can work together, hence I expect perfect behavior from the two of you in public. I cannot be bothered as to how much you scream and shout at each other in your common room but just make sure no one can see or hear you. Goodness knows how much we need to promote house unity after the downfall of Voldemort."

Draco flinched from the use of the Dark Lord's name, but recovered quickly and he felt his mind go numb with shock at something the professor had just said. 

"Forgive me if I'm wrong, professor, but I was under the impression that you said OUR common room? How is it possible that we would share a common room if we are in different houses professor?" Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Granger pouting slightly and nodding, as if she was also wondering the exact same thing.

"Well yes, Mr Malfoy and Miss Granger, you heard me right. Both of you are going to be sharing a dormitory and…"

She was interrupted by shouts from both the students. Draco stood up so suddenly that his chair toppled and he started shouting about the unfairness of it all and how they would never be able to get along together while Hermione stood up as well and started yelling about how it was completely impossible that she would have to share a room with a former death eater. Their shouting escalated into arguments amongst themselves. Draco shouted at Hermione for being a complete idiot for thinking he was just like his father and screaming that she shouldn't accuse him of being something he never would be. Whereas Hermione shouted about how he had tried to kill their former headmaster and being responsible for bringing the death eaters into the school via the vanishing cabinet in the room of requirement.

"SILENCIO!" McGonagall shouted, and silence was forced upon the both of them. "You both are going to share a dormitory whether you like it or not. And honestly Miss Granger, I thought you were more well-mannered than that. You should know better than to accuse Mr Malfoy of something he was not. This matter is done, you better get into your robes, we should be arriving at the school soon. You are both expected to lead the 1st years to the Great Hall for the sorting since Hagrid is busy."

She removed the spell then, and both Hermione and Draco spluttered, yet making no noise. Hermione bowed her head, embarrassed that she had lost control over herself and had unknowingly hurt Malfoy. Draco stormed out of the room, maneuvering through the train corridors and trying to find his best friend Blaise Zabini, while Hermione trudged back to her compartment to Harry and Ron. It was the start of a very long year.

**Author's Note:**

**The next chapter is going to be updated real soon**** please stick with me thanks(:**


	2. Unexpected Betrayal

**Author's Note:**

**Please review thanks**** It would be much appreciated3 I'll keep updating regularly(: This chapter's called Unexpected Betrayal. I think all my chapters are going to start with Unexpected(:**

**Unexpected Betrayal**

Hermione's POV:

The train pulled slowly into the Hogwarts station. Taking a deep breath, she straightened her robes and stepped out of her compartment, administrating her bossy voice and saying out loud, "First years, over here, first years!" It reminded her of when she was entering Hogwarts School of WitchCraft and Wizardry and she was still the little bookworm who knew everything and had almost memorized everything in Hogwarts A History. She chuckled at the memory and was brought back to the present by a familiar drawl.

"Well, well Granger, reliving happy memories are you? Hurry up, Granger, I don't have enough time for your dawdling, and wipe that silly smile off your face, you look like Christmas has come early. We don't have all day to bring the first years to the Great Hall you know, and I am starving so we better get them down there to start the Sorting so the feast can start." Draco said all this with an extremely bored look on his face and rubbed his stomach for extra effect.

Hermione was slightly annoyed at him, but thought it would be fun to watch him squirm, hence she simply retorted back, "Hello to you too, Malfoy, who knew you and Ron had something in common besides the ferret and the weasel being in the same family? Now both of you like to eat too and are constantly hungry, I think I just found another similarity between the both of you. Congratulations Malfoy, there's hope for you yet." Yet Hermione could tell Draco was more than a little unnerved by her statement, and violently shuddered.

"Don't you dare mention any similarities between me and that low-lying Weasel of yours, or I will…"

"I don't take threats from you Malfoy, now come along now, we should take these students to the Great Hall. Heaven forbid what might happen if Professor McGonagall caught us arguing in front of the first years." Hermione quickly interrupted him, signaling to the first years to follow her and set off for the Great Hall, leaving Malfoy shell-shocked in their wake.

Draco's POV:

It slowly occurred to Draco that he had just let Granger order him around, and he had been speechless when she had interrupted him. No one interrupted a Malfoy, and oh, what his father would think if he knew about this. Another violent shudder ran through Draco. No. His father was gone, and would never bother him again. This somehow lifted his spirits and he forgot completely about his earlier argument with Granger. He quickly followed the path which Granger and the first-years had gone, finally catching up to them in long strides and ushered them along quickly whenever one of them fell behind the rest of the crowd, too mesmerized by the sights of the Whomping Willow and the Forbidden Forest. Many times, he had to keep one of the first years from reaching his hand into the murky depths of the Lake, afraid that the first year might get snatched down by the Giant Squid and it would be his fault entirely.

They alighted from the boats and clambered up steps, finally entering the hallway in front of the Great Hall. He could hear Granger from the front commanding the students to line up according to alphabetical order, and she pulled out a list of their names, arranging them properly. Draco stalked up ad down the line, adjusting their uniforms now and then to ensure they looked presentable enough for the Sorting Ceremony. Soon, the ornate doors opened, and Professor McGonagall stepped through the doors and led them past the house tables to the front of the Great Hall where the Sorting Hat sat on a chair, old and worn out through the many years of use. Draco quickly strode to his house table and sat down with his Slytherin housemates, sandwiching himself in between Blaise Zabini and Gregory Goyle. He saw Pansy Parkinson making goo-goo eyes at him and made a mental note to keep a wide berth from her for the remainder of the year.

From the corner of his eye, he noticed Granger slip quietly into the Gryffindor table, situating herself near Potter and Weasley. He felt a pang when she put her hand onto the Weasel's and felt something rage within him when he in turn just placed an arm around her shoulders. He had never felt like that before, and he definitely didn't understand it. His concentration was taken then, when the Sorting Hat opened it's mouth and began to sing.

_During the old times of the past_

_Hogwarts School was meant to last_

_By four founders with different wishes_

_To sort their students into different niches_

_Godric Gryffindor wanted the brave_

_Rowena Ravenclaw longed for the intelligent_

_Salazar Slytherin took the ambitious_

_Helga Hufflepuff took in all who are honest_

_The end of these founders' reins_

_Yet the longevity of their names_

_Passed down from one generation to the next_

_Separation of the houses finally be done with six_

_The dark evil's threat is gone_

_Though the rivalry has just started to dawn_

_The four houses shall be united by six_

_However unlikely these students are mix_

_Their success will come with pain_

_Yet through this their love for each other will be seen_

_Through bitter experiences the rivalry will dissipate_

_Only through time and effort will we finally unite_

_So help them dear students of the four founders_

_The time has come to stand against the common enemy_

_Another force shall rise from the past_

_And destroy everything shall we not stand strong and fast_

The last eerie note of the Sorting Hat faded into oblivion and all at once, the students of Hogwarts started muttering about what the riddle by the Sorting Hat could mean. Draco glanced around nervously, and like everyone else was clueless about what the Sorting Hat could be talking about. Blaise looked at him with anxiety, clearly not liking the meaning of the Sorting Hat. Everyone knew that the Sorting Hat never told lies, and it had only been known to deliver warnings whenever it deemed it necessary. All of the Slytherin table was looking at Draco, and he remembered his well-known reputation amongst the Slytherins—he was king, and many people worshipped him for whatever he said. He swallowed his fear and merely scoffed, "The Dark Lord is gone, who else could be more terrifying, right?"

The Slytherins were surprisingly calmed by his remark, and decided that he seemed uncaring for them to worry much about the foreboding warning delivered by the Sorting Hat. Draco figured he must have looked unbothered by the remark, though inside his heart was pounding, nearly jumping out of his chest, as if he knew he had a role to play in the unity between the houses. But that's ridiculous, he berated to himself, he would never unite the different houses, he believed too firmly on the beliefs of Salazar Slytherin, and only him. Everything would be fine, right? Only Blaise still seemed fazed by the whole incident, as if he could see through Draco and know that he was worried. Perhaps Blaise thinks he has a part to play too, thought Draco. At least I won't be alone in this, whether or not I'm involved, I'll have Blaise with me, hopefully, pondered Draco. Draco shook away those thoughts and settled on grabbing some mango pudding from the feast and sinking into his dinner.

Hermione's POV:

Hermione was rattled by the song sung by the Sorting Hat, though Ron seemed completely unaffected by it and merely sank his teeth into the fourth chicken drumlet. She always thought the Sorting Hat was a much better predicter of events than the Divination Professor, Trelawney. Undoubtedly, the Sorting Hat had sensed a great peril that was about to come and warned the school to unite again and stand against it. It also meant a greater evil was going to surface, which was not good news to Hermione, since she had just managed to defeat Voldemort a few months ago with the help of Harry and Ron. If another enemy was going to resurface, Hermione really didn't know if they would have the ability to defeat this one, since the wizarding world was practically in shreds and the houses that had previously not been united trusted no one else now except their own house.

Since the start of their very first year, Hermione had always heard teachers drop hints about the importance of house unity but still no one listened. No one cared and the houses that distrusted each other the most was Gryffindor and Slytherin. Hermione thought that finally people would have enough sense now to start forming closer relationships with their schoolmates from a different house.

"If they expect us to form closer relationships with slytherins like Malfoy and Parkinson, then they are completely wrong. That's bollocks!" Ron exclaimed.

Hermione sighed. Apparently some people still have no come to their senses about the warning.

"Ron, you know better than to disregard that warning. The Sorting Hat has never been wrong before!"

"That's bollocks Hermione, and you know it. How do they expect us to get along with Slytherins, when they were the ones who led to Volde…"

"RONALD BILIUS WEASLEY you should know better than to say that! You know very well for yourself that man Slytherins had nothing to do with Voldemort and some fought with US against THEM in the final battle! Honestly Ron, your lack of tact amazes me to a great degree!" Hermione could not suppress her rage and exploded at Ron.

She couldn't believe that her boyfriend was so accusing of the Slytherins. Sure, many of them were missing since their some of their parents were arrested for being part of Voldemort's circle, but many were still here at school pursuing their education and many would contribute to the wizarding world when then finished school.

"Come on 'Mione, you know many of them were evil like Mal..."

"Shut it Ron, not another word from you or I'm gonna…" Hermione threatened.

"OK both of you stop it now! Seriously I can't stand the both of you biting each others' heads off" Harry shouted, his irritated gaze focused on the shepherd's pie he had been picking on since the both of them started arguing.

"But Harry, you know Malfoy's father is evil! Why aren't you defending me like you're supposed to? And Mione, have you forgotten what he has called you for the past 6 years of school? MUDBLOOD Hermione, MUDBLOOD! And frankly speaking, you are acting so much of an idiot right now that I sympathise with him putting up in a room with you!" Ron shouted, standing abruptly from his chair and spilling his orange juice onto the table. He stomped out of the Great Hall and slammed the door with a resounding BOOM!

Hermione felt that he was wrong in accusing Draco but didn't like him being angry with her. She would go to talk with him later and hopefully they would come to an agreement and patch things up. She muttered a quick _Scourgify _and then finished up her dinner quickly. She looked around and was grateful to find that no one had noticed her slight outburst with Ron. She mumbled an incoherent goodbye and something about going to find Ron to Harry and promptly left the Great Hall, back upright and chin up.

She walked down the hallways and up the staircases and reached the Gryffindor Common Room. Thinking that it would be empty save for Ron, she thought it would be a good place to talk to Ron before all the other Gryffindors came back from dinner. She was surprised when she heard low moans and whispers coming from the Common Room, and then she heard a scream. Thinking that Ron was in trouble since he never screamed like a girl before, she immediately said the password and leapt into the room. She looked around for any hooded figures that might have been lurking around the room, instead her eyes fell on a pair of students lying tangled on the Common Room couch. They seemed to be engaging in sexual activity and she went over to them to issue them detention and deduct their house points. She stormed over to them, yet they didn't notice her at all.

To her shock and horror, she saw Ron groaning with Lavender wrapped around him like a snake. She let out a scream of complete frustration and betrayal and rushed out of the room to the Head dormitories. She didn't look back to Ron or Lavender, but if she did, she would have found Ron with an utter look of surprise on his face before hearing him really scream like a girl this time and attempt to chase after her. She ran to the Head dormitories, demanded that the portrait not let Ron in, and locked herself into her and Malfoy's shared bathroom. As the tears cascaded down her cheeks, she wondered what she had done to deserve this. She sank onto the cold marble floor, sobbing her heart out at the unexpected betrayal of her boyfriend.

**I know Ron sounds like an ass now, but he's going to mature and he will end up with an unlikely partner. Have you all guessed who the six are going to be?**


	3. Unexpected Refuge

**Author's Note:**

**3rd chapter is up **

**Unexpected Refuge:**

Draco's POV:

Unknowing to Hermione, Draco had witnessed the argument between her and the Weasel. Come on, he dryly thought, who didn't hear the famous golden duo couple argue? They were as loud as the roaring of the hippogriffs. Draco did not know why, but he felt something when Granger looked so hurt by Weasley's comments. He felt the need to check on her when she rushed out of the hall, and figured she was going to make up with her pathetic boyfriend. He had never felt this way before and was determined to act like nothing had happened and wanted to ignore the urge he felt to get out of the Great Hall and look for Granger. He tried to listen to his head, which was telling him to stay in his seat and continue eating his dinner, but his heart won over and he gobbled up the rest of his dinner and grabbed a steak and kidney pie, set on finishing it before going to find Granger. However, there was a certain tug to his heart that told him to go look for Granger now.

He got up to leave to find Granger, but was stopped by Blaise who asked him where he was going. He quickly lied through his teeth, something he had done since he had learnt to talk. Lying was second nature to him, he lied to anybody and everybody. He told Blaise that he had to go find Granger for Head Duties, just in case someone spotted him talking to her and he would not be able to find any valid excuse. Since all the Slytherins were looking at him, he made sure he pasted on a bored expression on his face, hoping to convince his fellow housemates that he was forced to meet with Granger to discuss some duties. Many of them seemed convinced and then turned back to eating their pies, and the rest merely glanced at him skeptically for a second or two before diverting their attention elsewhere. Only Blaise maintained his curious gaze at Draco, but still waved him off after a minute of two of staring at him and trying to read his mind.

Draco cursed silently under his breath. Blaise really knew him too well. He hurried along the corridors and reached the Gryffindor common room shortly, somehow he felt a certain pull to this place. He didn't know why, though. He panted, out of breath, still unsure of why he had rushed there to find Hermione. He mumbled the password to the portrait of the Fat Lady, glad for once that the Heads had been given the passwords to all the house common rooms. He stepped into the common room and glanced around, slightly repulsed by the golden and red furnishings. Green and silver is a much better colour combination, he thought, and wondered who had had such terrible taste in the matching of colours.

His thoughts were interrupted when he saw Lavender Brown standing near naked in front of one of the couches and trying to put her clothes back on. He was even more surprised than he had ever been when his gaze shifted to the man standing beside Lavender who was hurriedly pulling up his knickers. It was the Weasel. Draco could not believe his eyes. He rubbed them, opened them, closed them and opened them again. Still the same. He inched closer, crouched down and hid behind a nearby couch. He strained his ears to listen to Ron's continuous mutterings to himself. He caught several words, "shag … mistake … Hermione … ignored … screwed … ", but this was enough to confirm his suspicions of what had happened. He also had a good idea where Granger would be, and it occurred to him then that she would be heartbroken even though her boyfriend was quite pathetic to begin with. He suddenly felt that he should go check on Granger, and also felt strangely worried.

Draco leapt from his hiding place, screaming, "100 points from Gryffindor Weasley and Brown!" He dashed out of the room, swiftly turning back once to find Weasley and his slut's faces displaying mirror images of shock. He silently applauded himself for his stealth, and then headed straight for the Head's Common Room. He stopped for a minute to catch his breath after uttering the password to the portrait so fast that the portrait hardly caught it, and hesitated for a while before allowing him to enter. Draco headed straight for the toilet, and tried to open the door. It was locked. He tried the _Alohomora _spell but it rebounded onto him and he flew a few feet back, stumbling. He figured Granger must have put up wards to keep any unwanted visitors out. He leaned his head against the door, but could not hear anything on the other side.

Draco started panicking, and paced back and forth across the common toom, trying to decide how to get her out. He tried everything he could think of in the next 10 minutes, from banging on the door and screaming her name, to using a chair from the room to hit the door. All negative results to emit a response from her. Draco was not stupid, and deduced that she had placed a silencing charm on the bathroom. He was on the way to the corner of his own room to grab a paper clip to click open the lock when he realised that Granger had forgotten to lock the bathroom door that was adjoined to his room. _Stupid, stupid Draco,_ he thought, _couldn't even think about the other door_. He yanked open the door, and cautiously approached Granger.

He was shocked to see her on the floor, her back propped up against the wall and her legs crooked in front of her. Draco knew that Granger had slid down onto the floor into a squat and had unknowingly fallen asleep. He noticed the dried tear stains on her face and felt a slight pang in his heart. _Bloody hell, _Draco thought, _I'm going soft on Her-Granger."_ He noticed the uncomfortable position she was in, with her head bowed low and her hair all over her face like a curtain, and knew that she would wake up with neck cramps. He gathered her into his arms, surprised that he had not flinched from her, and gently carried her out into his room and laid her down onto his bed, since he did not know the password to her room. Draco gently brushed some tendrils of her hair to the side that was blocking her face, and was surprised at the softness of her skin. He suddenly had the urge to lean down and kiss her forehead, and after making sure that no one was looking, he did just that.

Draco left the room confused after that, one part of him annoyed that he had given in to the temptation and the other part of him was exhilarated from the feeling he had had when his lips touched her forehead. Draco had kissed many girls before, but he had never felt this twang in him except for that little peck that he had given Granger. It had always been lust. But this, this was something entirely different and new to Draco, and for that he was afraid. He was unsure of what he was feeling for Granger, and was scared at the possibility of anyone finding out that he harboured some feelings for the know-it-all mudblood.

Draco went to take a cold shower in order to chase the thoughts away, and then slipped into the chair beside his bed and watched her for a while. He thought it would be inappropriate to share his bed with Granger, since that would lead to many awkward misunderstandings, but he was somehow concerned that she might need his help in the middle of the night, hence he decided to just spend the night in the chair at his bedside. The last thing he saw before his eyelids slid shut was the calm, innocent face of the sleeping Hermione Granger.

Hermione's POV:

Hermione blinked open her eyes, the blurring of the objects around her sharpening to focus after a second or two. She felt so comfortable and clutched on to the pillow that she was lying on. It felt so soft and comforting that she never wanted to let go. She removed the other pillow beside her and hugged it to her heart, placing her chin just at the top where the pillow slipped into a green covering. _Wait….green?_ She was extremely sure that her pillow had been red, not green, however muddle-headed she was. She looked around her and found the bedroom to be green and silver, and then she took in the figure of a certain Draco Malfoy, who was sitting in the chair asleep, his head leaning against the bedframe. Then the events all came rushing back to her.

She stifled a cry of anguish, but it escaped her lips and within seconds, she was bawling her heart out. She was so upset that she didn't realise her cries had woken Malfoy, who was now awkwardly cringing from her cries but still looked sympathetic. She only felt a comforting arm drape around her waist and she gladly leaned into the embrace, staining his 200 galleons shirt with her salty tears. Malfoy didn't offer any condolences, only let her continue letting everything out and taking it on his poor black shirt. Hermione stopped crying for a while and the frustration and anger built up inside her.

She couldn't bottle up her anger anymore, and let it all out in a temper tantrum that she didn't recall having since she was a toddler. Malfoy, sensing what was about to happen, quickly drew his wand and managed to cast a silencing charm onto the room before her anger spilled out. Hermione was always very calm and composed, but this time she completely lost it. She threw things around the room, pummeled her fists onto Malfoy's chest, raking her nails down Malfoy's arms. She did not notice Malfoy wincing, and completely destroyed his room. When her temper had finally subsided, she looked around the room, surveying the damage that she had done. Broken bottles of butterbeer lay on the floor, it's contents staining the carpet. Books lay open on the floor, many of it's pages dog-eared and bent from the haphazard throwing. Quills and parchments were also scattered across the carpet, and a bottle of ink had been splattered onto the bed, staining the original green to black. She was horrified at the damage she had caused, and she turned to apologise to Malfoy, finally registering his presence in her brain.

She opened her mouth to utter an apology and was about to offer to help clear his room up when he noticed he was curled up on the chair, clutching his arms and moaning softly in suppressed pain. She noticed the slow dripping of a deep red liquid onto the floor, and only then realised that his arms were bleeding. As much as she disliked Draco Malfoy, she didn't wish harm onto anybody. Hermione rushed over to help Malfoy, when she finally managed to pry open his tightly wound arms, she realised the wounds were in the form of scratch marks, and to her utter horror realised that she had been the one who inflicted the harm onto him. Hermione furiously whipped out her wand and cast healing charms onto his arms, and he whimpered as the wounds slowly sealed itself.

"Oh my god Mal- Draco are you okay? I'm so sorry why didn't you stop me I hurt you without registering it I'm so so so so sorry argh I can't believe I was so stupid to be with Ron he's such a stupid prissy asshole from the planet of asses!" She said this all out at once without taking a breath, and realised Draco was having trouble trying to make sense of what she just said, but saw comprehension dawn onto him after a moment or two. From her statement, Hermione then remembered Ron's betrayal, and the floodgates opened once again.

Draco awkwardly held up his arms, and she rushed into his arms, burying his head into his chest and sobbing brokenly again. Hermione felt him lead her to the bed and pulled her down to sit onto the bouncy mattress beside him. She cried and cried and cried until slowly, she fell asleep, with Draco still holding her in his arms.

Draco's POV:

Draco held Hermione in his arms, surprised at how at peace he found himself when he was with her. To his surprise, even after Hermione had regained her bearings, she still accepted his comfort even though they had not been on the best of terms with each other. He then heard the steady deep breathing of Hermione, and he knew that she had fallen asleep in his arms. He glanced down at her, and he thought she was beautiful when she slept, her face so innocent like an angel. _Wait, what? Beautiful? Angel? My brain must be going haywire. It needs to undergo a cleansing procedure to wash out these unruly thoughts about the brightest witch of her age, _Draco thought. He observed her for a little while more, and then leaned his cheek onto the top of her soft curly hair, and slowly fell asleep, in his dreams an image of a beautiful girl with sharp brown eyes and flowing curls danced in a field, 2 children holding hands with her and dancing together, the children bearing a startling resemblance to himself. They danced and danced and danced, racing across the dandelions and fluttering butterflies, on and on.

McGonagall's POV:

Unknowing to the two students who were asleep in each other's arms, Professor Albus Dumbledore was standing in the room, having cast a disillusionment charm on himself. He smiled, his eyes twinkling, as he saw the two smartest students in his school, and ex-enemies sleep on. Professor Minerva McGonagall stood next to him, her eyes widening slightly as she took in their sleeping figures. To her, Draco seemed at peace when he slept, a slight smile on his face. She no longer saw the proud haughty boy, but instead a sweet mature boy who had just made the wrong choices in his life. They looked so peaceful together. She could not stand it, the curiousity was killing her. She had to ask Albus.

"Albus, is this what I think is happening? Is the prophecy being fulfilled? Could it be…Miss Granger and Mr Malfoy?" She asked quietly, afraid that she would disturb the sleeping witch and wizard.

"Yes Minerva, it is indeed. Sybill's ancestors predicted it a long time ago, and it seems like these two have a huge part to play in the upcoming prophecy. They are two of the six that will unite the Gryffindors and the Slytherins. No more will these two houses despise each other, and they will unite together to defeat the rise of the next powerful enemy," Dumbledore softly replied.

"But Albus, they are so different. They were enemies for most of their school years. Will they last, Albus? I don't want Her-both of them getting hurt." Minerva was worried. She really didn't want her favourite student to get hurt. She still thought Draco Malfoy was unreliable because she could not let go of the fact that in the past, he had attempted to kill Dumbledore but had backed out in the end. She still did not trust that boy. _What if he hurts her? _she thought.

Albus must have read her mind, because he reassured her. "My dear Minerva, he will always love her. But every success comes with pain, and I must say that someone will get hurt in the process. If they truly love each other, they will get by and may be able to spend their lives together happily. Do not worry about Mr Malfoy, Minerva, he is a good boy at heart, he just lacked the proper upbringing. He has never known what it is to love before. Give him time Minerva." Albus' eyes flashed, like they always do when he knew something that he was not letting on and also when he felt strongly for whatever he was saying.

Minerva seemed slightly more reassured, but it seemed that Albus was hiding something from her, and she knew it was big. She could not help but think, _what if he was merely assuring me to make me feel better when in fact he knows that something is going to happen to Hermione? _But she knew Albus would not tell her, and hence she decided not to pry, but when the time came, she would do whatever it takes to protect her favourite student whom she had come to love. But for now, she let it pass.

Minerva left silently, leaving the thinking Albus Dumbledore in the room.

She barely heard Albus, and was not sure whether it was a figment of imagination, but thought she heard a silent "good luck" aimed at the sleeping figures from the finest headmaster Hogwarts had ever seen since it's establishment.

**Other pairings will be coming up soon. So wait for it;)**

**Probably **

**-Ron and Pansy**

**-Harry and Luna**

**-Draco and Hermione (duh)**

**-Blaise and Ginny**


	4. Unexpected Prophecy

**Author's Note:**

**I really dunno what you guys think so please review! **

**Unexpected Prophecy:**

Hermione's POV:

Hermione stretched. She felt so sore, like she had not slept properly the last night. She straightened her limbs, and yawned widely, not bothering to look dignified. She rubbed her eyes sleepily, and then noticed someone's hand around her waist. She followed the pale hand with her eyes and was shocked to see the face of a very blond Draco Malfoy. The night's events came back to him, and she remembered bawling her heart out to Malfoy. She was slightly repulsed at losing control over her emotions the previous night but was also slightly shocked that Malfoy was not disgusted at the mere thought of touching her. In fact, Malfoy had an arm wrapped around her, like he had been holding her in an embrace previously.

Hermione could not deny that Malfoy had not matured over the many years of school. Quidditch had done him good and he had a good build. He was not too buff with rippling muscles but had a lean figure. He had definitely gotten better looking and attracted girls wherever he went. She was surprised he wasn't always with Pansy like he was when he was younger, but supposed he had become more intelligent and decided that Pansy didn't really love him. Hermione always thought that Pansy only went with boys out of pure lust and not love, and was somehow glad that Malfoy had seen through her. She remembered their breakup but now they were back to friends. She lowered her gaze to Malfoy, and on his face she saw pure innocence and peace, like there had been nothing plaguing him. He looked like an angel asleep, with his golden blonde hair swept down to his eyebrows, his usual cool demeanor not in place.

Hermione wearily glanced at the clock beside the bed and saw that it was nearly time for breakfast. She slowly extricated herself from Malfoy's arms, careful not to wake him. She didn't know what possessed her at that moment but she extended one hand and lightly brushed his bangs away from his eyelids. Hermione, slightly shocked by her own actions, quickly muttered the password to her own room and grabbed a clean set of school robes. She went into the shower and started the water, stepping into the shower and enjoying the feel of the warm water falling onto her back. She started singing a song that she had learnt since she was a young girl and was completely immersed in the lyrics of the music. It was about a young boy who had fallen in love with a girl and was willing to protect her forever, but circumstances kept them apart and the girl fell in love with someone else and spent her life with that man. The boy had been heartbroken, but he had masked his distress as he wanted to see the girl happy. He told the girl that he would love her forever, and then left.

Hermione thought this song was very touching and she was contemplating the words, thinking about how nice it would be to finally find her Mr Right. _Would he love me to sacrifice anything? _she thought. After a very comforting bath, she stepped out of the shower and went to the mirror to comb her hair and wash up. She looked into the mirror and was horrified to see that her eyes were bloodshot. She had been crying so much last night that her eyes were blotchy and she looked terrible this morning. There was nothing she could do about it and thinking about the previous nights' events only made tears come into her eyes. _Get a grip onto yourself, Granger, _she scolded herself, _he's not worth your tears._ She settled on trying to tame her unruly locks of brown curls and tried to make herself look more presentable. She continued humming the tune of the song under her breath while her hands danced about tying her hair into a bun, though her voice was interrupted by intermittent soft sobs, and she was completely unaware that her voice had woken the boy in his room.

Draco's POV:

Draco woke to the sound of singing. The voice was sweet and soft, and he thought it sounded like the songs of the nightingale. It was so pleasing to the ear, that he almost thought that he had accidentally left his radio on. He had discovered the wonders of the radio when he and his family had gone to tour Muggle Paris. He had heard it playing in the bar and had gone great lengths to find out what was behind the machine that made joyous music play. Draco had immediately purchased one and brought it to Hogwarts with him, though he hid it under a plain white cloth should any Slytherin discover that he had a Muggle device. He would lose his reputation as the respectable pureblood if his secret admiration for the inventions of the Muggles were discovered. He would be severely punished by…_no, wait, he's gone, he's gone,_ Draco calmed himself down. He hated the way that his father would torture him whenever he failed in his father's expectations. He still bore scars of his beatings.

Speaking of scars, he wondered if the scar in Granger's heart had been healed yet. Then he realised that the voice that had awakened him was not from the radio, but it was coming from the bathroom. He softly slid off the bed and put on his green sof slippers. He silently shuffled his feet to the bathroom door, careful not to startle the person singing inside, and gently placed his ear against the door. He heard the sweet voice singing a very complicated melody, and was immediately entranced by this woman's voice. Then it dawned on him that it was Granger that was singing in the bathroom.

He listened closer. She was singing about lost love, and the sacrifices that a boy made to ensure the happiness of the girl. Draco heard such strong emotions put into her song that he almost shed a tear or two. _Almost. _Malfoys don't cry. That's what he had been told since he was at a young age. His father would hit him if he ever showed even one sign of weakness. Draco could hear Granger weeping slightly, and discovered that the voice stopped singing from time to time for a small heart-wrenching sob to take its place. He felt a pang in his heart when he realised that Granger was still crying over what that pathetic excuse of a human being had done to her. She sounded so pitiful that Draco could not stand listening to her cry over some stupid boy anymore. He lightly rapped his knuckles onto the wooden surface of the door, and when this did not elicit any response from the heartbroken girl, he softly pushed the door open and entered the bathroom, only to find a watery pair of shocked brown eyes stare back into his concerned silvery-grey ones.

Hermione's POV:

Hermione continued brushing through her thick mane of hair, trying to untangle all the knots that her hair had somehow done itself into during her 6 hours of sleep. She continued humming the tune, pouring all the emotions she had into the song, her sobs occasionally punctuating the melodious tune. She was almost done with pinning her hair up into a bun when she heard a light knock at the bathroom door adjoined to Malfoy's room. She shrugged it off, thinking she had just imagined it. _Get your mind back from the clouds, Hermione, it's not like Malfoy would check on you, he's too arrogant and he doesn't care about you a single bit_, she muttered to herself. The truth was that Hermione wanted someone to at least care about her. Sure, Harry cared about her as a friend, her parents cared for her as their daughter, and Ron **used **to care for her as a girlfriend as well. The most important word here being **used. **She had given her love wholeheartedly to Ron and he had trampled on her heart. She had been **used. **

She had had many nightmares, and remembered the day when she had been the one to destroy the horcrux of Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem.

_Raising the basilisk fang high above her head, she had nodded her head at Ron, giving her silent assent for him to imitate how Harry had spoken "open" in Parseltongue to the locket. _

"_Haish bliat fiss kliss nofis" Ron's words came out as a strange strangled hiss. For a moment there, both of them thought it hadn't worked, and Hermione had lowered the fang in disappointment. Then, as Ron prepared to attempt to speak in Parseltongue again, the diadem, to both Ron and Hermione's surprise, opened with a hiss and smoke started pouring out of the diadem. A voice spoke._

"_Hermione Granger, I have seen your mind, read your uncertainties and fears, and you belong to me. You have the fear of being used by your friends and never loved as an individual."_

_Two smoky figures formed in the green hazy smoke, taking the shape of a young Hermione Granger and a young Harry Potter, showing them conversing in front of potion bottles._

_Hermione realised that it was the scene in her first year where she had solved the potions master's puzzle in order for Harry to continue on to confront Quirrell with the stone, though at that time they had all thought the thief to be Severus Snape. With a jolt, Hermione thought this was the year that she had been used by her friends as she had been full of wit, and due to her high level of intelligence, she had made it possible for her friends to succeed and even pass their end-of-years without much studying._

"_Yessssss", the voice hissed, "you had been used."_

_Then the smoke dissipated and another image formed-of her, Harry, and Ron sitting in front of the Common Room fireplace, her two best friends trying to complete the piece of homework that Snape had assigned. They had been struggling with the sixty properties of the Moonstone, and were begging Hermione for help. Hermione had then agreed with a sigh, allowing them to peruse her 10-foot long essay, but made them promise not to leave their homework to such a last minute timing again. They had nodded their heads, though Hermione had been sure they had not had any idea what they had promised. _

"_Used once againnnn" the voice hissed again, "since when had they stopped using you?"_

_Hermione was only vaguely aware of Ron's voice screaming at her from the background to stab the diadem. She was still dazed from listening to the voice and she knew it was partially true. Ron was still shouting at her to stab the horcrux, and yelling at her that what the soul had spoken about their friendship was not true, and it was telling lies._

_Hermione raised the fang above her, and slammed the tip down into the heart of the diadem, then extracted it with one strong tug, eliciting a strangled and angry hiss from the horcrux, before it was destroyed forever. The fang clattered out of her hands, and the once strong Hermione Granger fell to the ground in a heap, completely broken after having faced the fact that she was indeed frightened by the fear that Tom Riddle's horcrux had so confidently mentioned._

**Used. **She had always been **used. **For her wit, intelligence and kindness. She had done nothing to deserve this hurt and pain. Hermione was so angry that she furiously tugged her comb through her hair, causing some of her curls to get yanked from their roots and fall to the floor. Her pain was blurred from the hurt she felt in her heart. She gripped the comb so hard that she thought it might just turn to dust from the force applied and was about to hurl the comb at the mirror when she took in her disheveled appearance and her red-rimmed eyes when the bathroom door creaked open.

Her reflexes had been extremely fast since she had undergone training in Dumbledore's Army during the war, where she and some of her schoolmates had been practicing jinxes and curses, each of them trying to surprise their opponent. She immediately whipped out her wand at the sound of the door and aimed it directly to the heart of the intruder. It never occurred to her that the only people who could actually be opening the door was her and Malfoy, considering no one knew the password to the Head Domitories except the teachers, and there was no way they would just open the door to the bathroom.

She saw her intruder put up both his hands in surrender and her eyes slid from the bottom to the top, and then realised that the intruder was Draco Malfoy. She sheepishly lowered her wand and placed it back into her pocket, lowering her eyes in embarrassment. _"Hey"_, she murmured. She didn't have much to say, still being embarrassed about how she had pointed her wand at him without even thinking. The war had made her increasingly alert and she didn't even bother about checking who it was before immediately raising her wand to defend herself. Survival was a skill she had learnt through the war. However, in her mind, she was really wondering why Malfoy had come in. _It must be because he wanted to use the bathroom,_ she thought.

"Um, Malf…Draco, um… sorry, I'm done…you can use the bathroom now", she stuttered out.

Draco's POV:

Draco was shocked. He had pushed open the bathroom door lightly, and the only thing he could see was this wand pointing at him. He did the only thing he knew to do, he raised his hands as a sign of surrender, like he had seen many people do on a tellyvishon, was it, no television that muggles liked to watch. Draco never knew that Granger had such fast reflexes, almost like a cats'. He admired her for how alert she was. _But then again, _he thought, _the war has honed these skills of ours. _

Then Granger had sheepishly lowered her eyes and had assumed he came in to use the bathroom. He was once again surprised. _Does she really think that I'm here to chase her out? Does she really think I don't care about her at all after what had happened last night? But then again, who am I to assume that she knows I'm here to check on her? After all, we haven't exactly been best buds in school, _he thought. Then he noticed Granger was looking at him, and apparently was waiting for his reply or a least a tease aimed at her. Now it was his turn to feel uncomfortable. He had never really talked to Granger before.

"Oh…no…I just…came in to check on you…I thought I, you know, um, heard you, um, singing and crying?" he attempted to sound caring but it just earned a appalled look from Granger. _Oh gosh, Draco, you must have sounded so unlike yourself, seriously Malfoys don't care about the wellbeings of mud- muggleborns, oh god Draco, you can't even say that word anymore, can you? You have become a bloody wimp! _Draco's one half of his brain was telling him to stop bothering about Granger, but his other side was telling him that all the blood prejudices had been mere lies that his fath—Lucius had implanted into his head since young.

"You've been crying again, haven't you, Grang-Hermione?" Draco asked, seeing Granger's eyes swollen and a little red. He noticed that Granger immediately adverted her eyes and furiously dabbed at them with the creased piece of tissue paper that she held in her hand. "Are you alright?" Right after he asked, Draco regretted it. Granger started crying again and could not seem to stop, her sobs shaking her small frame.

Draco awkwardly held out his arms again, just like last night, and half expected Granger to just turn away from him and say that she was fine. But Granger rushed straight into his arms with a wail and started staining his shirt with her seemingly never-ending tears again. Draco didn't mind. She felt good in his arms, and he drew her closer, stroking her hair and muttering sweet nothings into her ear, trying to comfort her. She stopped crying after a while, having seemed to finally run out of tears, and settled on just staying curled up in his arms, the both of them sitting in a comfortable silence.

Draco seemed at peace with Grang—no, he was going to call her Hermione. After the incident, they had gotten a lot closer, and had found refuge in each other. He even thought that Hermione trusted him to a certain degree as he had been the only one who she had accepted comfort from, since she hadn't seen anyone else yet. He glanced up at the clock wearily, as he was aware that he had been staring into Hermione's face for a very long time, and she just lowered her gaze in embarrassment and her cheeks were flushed. He mentally jumped a little when he realised that there was only ½ an hour left for breakfast.

"Um, Hermione, I hate to say this, but there is only ½ an hour of breakfast time before classes start," he mumbled, still a little embarrassed at being caught for staring at her. Hermione stiffened, and shot upwards, causing Draco's arms to slide right off her shoulders and waist to land on his laps with a smack. Draco sighed as she gave a small nod of thanks in his direction and then went to her room and shut the door, and he assumed that she was going to pack the necessary books for her lessons. He walked to his closet and took out a clean and ironed set of school robes, dressing in his usual black.

Shortly after he had finished geling his hair up into so that each strand sat in its usual position, he stepped back from the mirror and admired his looks. Deeming himself presentable, he turned to his trunk and unpacked some quills and parchments, packing them into his bag to take with him to breakfast. Then he heard a soft knocking at his door, and he slung his bag over his shoulder and made for the door, only pausing to give his room a sweeping glance to ensure that he hadn't left anything of utmost importance behind. He noticed that he had his first Quidditch training session of the season tonight, yet his Quidditch equipment were still clattered in his room, and he made a mental note to organize his room after classes.

The knock came again and Draco opened the door, wondering who the impatient person was. It was Hermione. She looked well … _delicious … _Draco thought, for lack of better word to describe her. She had tied up her hair nicely into a bun, but there were several loose curls, which hung down to her neck. She was dressed casually with her school robes over her t-shirt and her skinny jeans, but she still managed to look beautiful. She had put on a pair of red flats, which matched with her Gryffindor robes perfectly. He looked up and noticed that Hermione was blushing slightly, and realised that he had been caught scrutinizing what she was wearing. He forced himself to look away and managed to compose his face into a calm façade.

Draco realised Hermione had been nice and instead of rushing to breakfast with her supposed "best friends", she had waited for him to go to breakfast together. _She probably was still upset over Weasel's betrayal though. _He didn't blame her though. No one would feel good after such an incident. He was disgusted with the Weasel, not just because he was _the _Weasel, but more because he thought it was extremely terrible for a _man _to cheat on a _lady._ It was completely unacceptable to Draco who had been brought up with the mindset that men should always treat girls properly. _Terrible. _He thought. He decided to be nicer to Hermione since he was sure she felt wretched inside.

"Are you ready to go, Hermione?" he asked nicely.

"'Mione" she said.

Draco was confused. "Excuse me?" he asked. He had asked whether she was all set to go for breakfast and she had replied with a _Mione. What did that mean? _He thought, _it wasn't a word, was it? _He was about to ask Hermione what she was saying but his face must have given him away because Hermione opened his mouth to answer her.

Hermione's POV:

Hermione had immediately said "Mione" when Draco had asked him whether she was ready to go. After what happened last night, she considered him to be a friend. She thought that he had definitely changed for the better after the war and knew that even before that, he wasn't evil. He was just the boy who didn't really have a choice, and when he did, unfortunately made the wrong ones due to his upbringing Hermione knew he had been raised in an environment where purebloods were superior and mudbloods were those with dirty blood and were inferior to others since they didn't have wizards for parents. But yesterday seemed to contradict that belief. Draco had held her without cringing away and had even comforted her in his own way. For that, Hermione was extremely grateful to him, and decided she would give him a chance to prove to be a good friend to her.

Only her friends called her Mione, and Hermione thought it would be fitting for Draco to call her that since he was her friend. Hermione saw the confusion in his face. He looked really cute, Hermione would give him that, the way his eyebrows were scrunched up together, as they always are when he was thinking. Hermione knew the gears in his brain were turning swiftly, and from the look on his face, he was probably wondering what that word meant. Hermione chuckled to herself, he was so easy to read, yet she thought he was silly to even consider the possibility that _Mione _was a word in the dictionary. She decided to just tell him instead of making him ponder over it till his brain cells died.

"Dra-Draco, Mione is my nickname that all my friends call me by. Since I consider you my friend, well, I mean, after all you did for me last night, I suppose you ARE my friend. So you can call me Mione since I think you are my friend, unless of course, you don't want to be my friend, then I suppose—" Hermione started rambling when Draco turned his strikingly grey eyes onto hers, and she felt herself grow hot under his gaze and of course like always when she was in the presence to a gorgeous boy, she started talking without thinking and went on and on and on. She was interrupted by Draco's smooth velvet voice.

"Ok Mione", he said, emphasizing on her name, "I get it, I'm your friend. You are mine. Period"

He looked amused and Hermione immediately flushed lightly, making her cheeks tinge pink. Draco held his hand out to her, and she immediately accepted it. He led her out of the common room and out onto the corridors, all the way to the Great Hall. He opened the door for her, and they parted at the entrance, with curious stares from the other students, he made his way to the Slytherin table while Hermione made her way to the Gryffindor table. She saw Ron and Harry sitting together, and was still disgusted at what he had done with Lavender behind her back. She sat further down the table next to Ginny, Seamus and Dean. She was ignoring the apologetic gazes Ron was shooting her, but she merely scoffed at him since Lavender was practically glued to him. Harry was sending her sympathetic looks and she nodded in greeting. She knew it was not his fault for sticking with Ron. Harry hated choosing between his best friends and Hermione knew it. She would let him off, for now.

She struck up conversation with Seamus and Ginny, who were now talking about the Valentine's Day Ball that was coming up. They were talking about decorations and the schedule, since they were Prefects and were in the committee in charge of preparing the ball. Hermione added some suggestions here and there, and was about to scoop some scrambled eggs into her plate when the doors to the Great Hall were flung open abruptly and in entered a very flustered Professor Trelawney.

Her hair was flying all over her face and she looked well, _mad. _She looked insane in fact, and her eyes were glazed over. She was muttering things under her breath and her mouth was moving rapidly. Green smoke was spewing from her mouth and mist was somehow coming out of her shoes. Hermione thought she looked like one of those people out of a horror movie where the evil character has gone crazy in defeat and somehow melts. Hermione was scared though, having never seen something happen like that before. Everyone seemed shocked at this, and the hall was so silent you could see a pin drop.

Professor Trelawney looked possessed, and her mouth opened and by some way or another, her voice was magnified, without the use of the _sonorous _charm. She started chanting, her eyes still a milky white, and with a jolt Hermione realised she was about to deliver a prophecy. _Was this connected to the Sorting Hat warning? _Hermione thought, frightened about what might happen if another wizard as terrible as Voldemort rose again. The rest of the students were waiting with bated breath.

She spoke.

"_The power of six shall come alive_

_Facing the ultimate enemy of hate_

_Prevail they must to support the pillars of love_

_Lest the whole wizarding world fall apart_

_At the hands of these ruthless commanders_

_One of them born not of pure lineage_

_Her partner one of the oldest believers of purity_

_The other pairs both of pure heritage_

_A boy and a girl both brother and sister_

_Considered to be traitors of their own blood _

_The pair of different lineage shall suffer the most_

_Of pain and deceit and doubt_

_An ancient spell be reused _

_An ancient curse be awakened_

_Their love for each other be so blind_

_These six will bring down those tainted_

_Restore this world to it's former peace_

_Star-crossed souls they are, all of them_

_Unapproved by all who care not for them_

_Approved by all who wish to see the world at peace"_

The whole hall erupted into pandemonium.


	5. Tales of the Chosen

**Author's Note:**

**Thank you so much ValerieAnn you really made my day when you commented on my story! I nearly stopped writing but I saw your review and I started right away again! Please comment so that I can make improvements/adjustments to the plot thanks again! And hope you get an idea in this chapter as to how the story might continue to expand and progress!**

**Harry Potter does not belong to me, only the plot does **

**Enjoy **

**Tales of the Chosen:**

Draco's POV:

Students started chattering amongst themselves, all of them speaking their minds to the weird situation that had just presented itself. Draco knew that a prophecy had not presented itself publicly for a century, much less in Hogwarts School of WitchCraft and Wizadry. The prophecy spoke of three couples, and Draco had a faint idea who the people were. He hoped he was wrong, but he had found his eyes drawn to the green smoke even when he tried to look away, while the other people around him had fidgeted and looked uncomfortable, he noticed that only a few people around the hall were transfixed at the smoke issuing from Professor Trelawney's mouth, and one of them was Blaise Zabini.

When Trelawney had issued the prophecy, he had felt like there was a connection between the prophecy and himself, and had felt a warm twinge on his arm. He looked down at his left forearm now, and he was shocked to discover that a little tattoo had plastered itself onto his skin, taking the shape of a strange creature he had never seen before, with the head and body of a lion, but with a snake head as a tail. Draco quickly composed his expression, and fixed his face into a well-rehearsed look of surprise and immediately joined in the gossip. The Slytherin girls were discussing possible couples that might play a part in the prophecy. By now, Draco was almost 100% sure that he was one of the people involved. He caught Blaise's eye, and judging from his best mate's look of complete and utter surprise, he was quite sure that Blaise had just receive the strange marking as him. He tilted his head slightly to the left, signaling to Blaise to leave the hall to chat, and gave him a look that told him that he himself had just experienced the very same thing.

Blaise nodded almost unnoticeably, and left the hall. There was no need to be discreet, as everyone in the hall was shouting and even the teachers were extremely distracted. Draco knew how they felt. One war had just ended, there was no way the Wizarding World could survive another one when there had already been so many casualties during the reign of Lord Voldemort. Draco shuddered. Even after the death of the Dark Lord, he still felt uncomfortable calling him by his feared name due to the taboo that had previously been placed on it. He hated the new tattoo on his left forearm, it reminded him too much of the Dark Mark, which was now no more than a faded scar on his right forearm, and the pain that came with it.

He glanced back at the Slytherin table, and noticed that Pansy Parkinson, of all people, were not contributing to the gossips, but was instead absentmindedly rubbing her right forearm. She looked distracted and Draco, being very observant, noticed her lowering her head slightly and pull up the sleeve of her robe, only to have a shocked look register on her face before violently yanking the sleeve down again. She looked extremely scared and flustered. Draco guessed that she had also gotten a mark, only on the opposite arm. He strode quickly towards her shivering frame, and lightly tapped her on the shoulder. She seemed so shaken that she actually jumped when he tapped her and did not even bother to put on her usual snobby demeanor. Draco nodded to her and glanced down briefly at his own forearm, and then shifted her eyes towards the left, indicating to her to leave the hall to talk with him. She got the message, and hurriedly left, her fingers still clasping her right forearm.

Draco looked around to ensure that no one saw him, before slinking out of the hall himself. If anyone noticed and asked him, he would simply say that he had not yet completed his Bezoar essay given by Professor Slughorn and had gone to complete it in the library. No one ever went to the library, no, he corrected himself mentally, no _Slytherin _ever goes the library, except maybe Blaise Zabini. He turned a few corners and saw Blaise and Pansy standing together closely, leaning against the Slytherin Common Room entrance in a silence that could only mean that they still had not gotten over the shock.

"Come on", Draco urged, leading them to the Room of Requirement where they would surely be able to talk in private without the fear of anyone disturbing them. Their heavy footsteps echoed behind him, and he deduced that they were trudging aimlessly, their minds still focused on trying to process what had just happened. He reached the door and walked back and forth it three times, in his mind hoping for a place to talk comfortably without interruption. The door appeared shortly after and he opened it, beckoning to both Pansy and Blaise to enter when they just stood there looking like statues, _extremely shaken statues, I might add, Draco thought. _He was pleased to see that there were green couches in front of a fireplace provided.

He sat down dignifiedly, and gestured at his friends to do the same when they still stood there blankly. _Honestly, _Draco thought, _did their brain cells become fried when the prophecy was issued? _He was highly amused when he snapped his fingers in front of their faces, shouting, "Earth to Blaise and Pansy!" so loud that both of them gave a slight jump. They both looked startled to be addressed and stared at Draco with glazed eyes.

"Let me see your new tattoos", Draco demanded.

Both Pansy and Blaise rolled up their sleeves. It was fortunate that the Slytherin school robes covered their forearms to just the end of the tattoo. Draco saw that the three of them had identical tattoos branded onto their skin, just that both boys had the strange mark on their left forearm, while Pansy had it on her right forearm, exactly opposite sides. Draco had an uneasy feeling about what the creature could be. He cleared his throat when he noticed that his friends had lowered their heads again and had begun to stare aimlessly at the carpet and started to doodle aimlessly on their thighs.

"So…any ideas?" Draco asked, trying to jerk them out of their reverie. It didn't work. Both just slightly lifted up their heads and gave a hardly discernible shake. Draco felt like he was talking to a pair of wooden puppets, and really could not stand the both of them acting so useless. Smirking, Draco stood up and walked over to them, drawing back his right arm in the process, and then bringing it down onto their faces with a resounding slap. Stunned, both his friends stared at him, horrified, but their eyes were now no longer glazed over and the reality of the situation had started to sink in.

Satisfied that he had finally gotten his friends' attentions, Draco proceeded to tell them his suspicions and what this prophecy and the tattoos could actually mean to them.

"I know it sounds ridiculous, but I have a feeling that the snake part of the creature means us, Slytherins, while the lion body might be equivalent to Gryffindors. I know it doesn't sound good, but I think both houses have a part to play in this disgusting prophecy. Since the prophecy speaks of couples, I wouldn't be surprised if our so-called _soul mates", _Draco made a rude hand gesture at this, "are Gryffindors." Draco was proud that he had come up with all these logical deductions in such a short period of time, and judging from the looks on both Blaise's and Pansy's faces, they hadn't thought about it.

They looked utterly bewildered for a second, then it suddenly hit them that they might **love** a Gryffindor, _which by the way, _Draco thought, _is completely impossible._ Their looks of shock immediately changed to one of disgust. Draco didn't think it was their faults, _after all, who can imagine ending up with one of those infuriating brats? _There was nothing they could do about it though, and that, to Draco, really sucked.

There was still a part of the tattoos that Draco didn't understand, and this troubled him enough. Why were his and Blaise's tattoos on their left forearm and Pansy's one on the opposite arm? _Could it mean something?_ Draco thought. His brain was really hurting now from all the stress that they had been put through in the morning, and honestly speaking, Draco couldn't think anymore. He just wanted to go to bed and curl up into a ball.

"Let's just go to bed, we can talk about this in the morning" Draco suggested, seeing the drained faces of his best friends was not going to help him figure things out. His pals nodded ever so slightly and then showed themselves out of the room. Draco gently placed two fingers onto his temples and rubbed them gently, his fingers moving in small circles. It was soothing, and when he stopped, his head was hurting less, but it was still necessary for him to sleep the exhaustion off. _Tomorrow morning I will solve this puzzle, _Draco thought, _I believe the difference in placing of the tattoos has something to do with the couples, and if I figure it out, I just might be able to find out who my supposed soul mate is. _Pleased with his planning, Draco slowly slid his eyelids shut and fell asleep almost immediately, his left hand still clutching the right.

Hermione's POV:

Hermione was startled. From all her years in Hogwarts, she was always known to be composed and calm, but this time, she completely lost it. Her face betrayed her emotions that she so desperately wanted to hide. Fear. Doubt. Confusion. Hermione Granger had never encountered anything that she didn't know how to solve, anyone in Hogwarts could tell you that. After all, this was the girl who had read Hogwarts: A History umpteenth times and had it memorized. So why was she confused? Honestly, Hermione didn't know. She always thought she would be the normal girl who went to school, learnt all that she needed to, find a job and contribute back to the society. Only Harry Potter would be included in prophecies, not her. Definitely not muggle-born Hermione Jean Granger.

To hear that she, mudblood Granger, had been included in a prophecy was shocking, to say the least. Years ago, Hermione remembered that she herself had been in Coronation Kindergarten in muggle London and had been laughing about her friends foretelling the future. Now, in the Wizarding world, she wasn't so sure that prophecies could be taken lightly, considering the importance and the truth of the Chosen One's prophecy, which had also been delivered by Professor Trelawney. The professor was, as she herself liked to say, a dingy old bat. When she had been deciding what to pursue in NEWTs, Hermione had struck off Divination at once. She hated the subject and when Voldemort had still been alive and running, and Harry was in danger, she really hated how Divination was reality in the Wizarding world and how people were born into prophecies they had not opted to be in. Divination, prophecies and all these sorts of nonsense, Hermione wanted no part of.

But now she was. And she really didn't like the idea of couples in this whole prophecy hullabaloo. Was she really fated to be with someone from another house? _I guess Ravenclaw wouldn't be that bad, they are quite smart after all, _she thought, _but what if I ended up with a slimy Slytherin? _She shuddered. _No way, I will never fall for one of them, disgusting creatures. _She inwardly comforted herself with that thought. That's when her left forearm had this slight sting, and she muttered "Ouch" before turning to look at it. Hermione gasped slightly at the intricate tattoo that now adorned her left forearm. It was a majestic creature, with the body of a lion and a tail of a serpent. A realization occurred to Hermione, and she whispered "Oh no" before her world turned upside down and black. The last voices she heard when she fainted was the faint calls of her friends.

Hermione blinked open her eyes, and everything around her that was fuzzy became focused in a few seconds. She was aware that her best friends Harry and Ron were crowded around her and then it occurred to her that Ron's nose was almost touching hers. She screamed. Ron jerked away instantly, and then mumbled something under his breath. Harry laughed, then turned serious when he looked at Hermione. Both boys shrank away. _Good, I must look scary. _Hermione smiled to herself before unleashing all her wrath onto Ronald Bilius Weasley, who was now cowering behind Harry.

"RONALD BILIUS WEASLEY YOU COME OVER HERE THIS INSTANT I HAVE NOT YELLED AT YOU YET. HOW DARE YOU GO OFF AND CHEAT ON ME WHEN I WAS STILL WITH YOU. IS THAT WHAT YOUR MOTHER BROUGHT YOU UP TO BE? IF YOU DIDN'T LIKE ME AT LEAST BREAK UP WITH ME BEFORE CARRYING OUT YOUR SEXUAL FANTASIES WITH ANOTHER GIRL SERIOUSLY RONALD KNOCK SOME SENSE INTO THAT STUPID BRAIN OF YOURS BEFORE DOING SOMETHING! OH AND I HAVEN'T EVEN STARTED ON LAVENDER BROWN YET!"

Hermione had said all this in a great big rush, and she was so angry she could imagine that her face had turned purple while she was hollering at the top of her lungs. She gathered in a deep breath and continued, her temper still high above the normal. She had so many things that she hadn't yet said, and this time, she wasn't going to stop. Both Harry and Ron were still cringing, though Harry looked relieved that the shouting wasn't directed to him and seemed to relax slightly, leaning his back against the wall. Ron, however, looked embarrassed and scared, his face was a brilliant shade of rose red, matching his hair perfectly.

"I'M NOT DONE YET RONALD, YOU HAVE THE GUTS TO CHEAT ON ME YET YOU DON'T HAVE THE COURAGE TO LOOK AT ME WHEN I'M YELLING AT YOU? GOOD GRIEF RONALD! DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY MILLIONS OF MEN HAVE BEEN SHAGGED BY LAVENDER BROWN? NO? LET ME TELL YOU THEN, RONALD, ABOUT HALF THE POPULATION OF THE MALES IN THIS SCHOOL ABOVE 5TH YEAR! YOU'RE CHEATING WITH A SLUT! EXCUSE MY LANGUAGE, HARRY, BUT WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING RONALD? AND WHY IN THE WORLD OF THIS BRILLIANT MOTHER EARTH WAS YOUR FACE SO CLOSE TO MINE? I DON'T THINK I WILL EVER FORGIVE YOU RONALD YOU HAD BETTER HAVE A GOOD EXPLANATION FOR THIS!"

Ron opened his mouth, presumably to speak, at this point of time, but Hermione merely turned to Harry and cut him off. Harry immediately stepped back slightly and only stopped when he hit the chair on the opposite side of the room. Hermione chuckled at this, and both Ron and Harry turned to look at her, with looks of confusion. Hermione smiled. She was the master of her own emotions, and could change them in a split second. She changed her voice to one of gentler tone and spoke to Harry.

"Harry, I understand that you want to stick with your best mate, so it's okay and there's no need to be scared. I won't take my frustration out on you, speaking of which, what am I doing in this place? I'm perfectly fine and there's no need for me to be here. Why am I here in the firs…oh." Hermione remembered what had happened during dinner. The prophecy, the smoke, the…"TATTOO" Hermione spoke this word out loud. Harry and Ron looked a little uncomfortable at this.

Harry cleared his throat.

"Yeah, about that tattoo, you see, well, Ron and I've got it too, the exact same one, just that it's on the opposite hand as yours."

At this, Hermione stared at Harry like he had grown three new heads instead of just the one that he had. THEY had a tattoo too? Harry was part of another prophecy? Hermione thought she had had it bad, but apparently fate just had to play with Harry again and the legendary Harry Potter was now part of ANOTHER prophecy foretelling his future. _Poor Harry. _He was taking it rather well though. _He's probably used to all this weird things happening to him by now, _she thought. _Focus._

Hermione analysed the tattoo that now decorated about half of her forearm. The creature that was now imprinted on her skin was mostly golden in colour but the body also had streaks of green on it. It looked like a mutant lion with a snake tail and green tiger stripes on its body. When Hermione lightly stroked its mane with her index finger, the lion stretched and turned it's great shaggy head at her, opening it's mouth slightly in a small yawn and then purring affectionately at her while the snake hissed softly and then stretched itself to its full height and then blinked lovingly at her once. It was a strange gesture.

She knew that the lion must mean something like herself, as the Gryffindor mascot was a lion, while the snake must mean her so-called "soul mate". Hermione scoffed. If her theory was correct, it would mean that her partner was a Slytherin. _Impossible. The day I fall for a Slytherin is the day that the whole of Hogwarts bowed down to Fre- George. _Tears filled her honey brown eyes. The death of Fred Weasley during the Final Battle had hit her hard. She still missed his funny antics whenever she went around to the Burrow to stay for the summer. His death hit George the most. He was George's twin and they loved each other so much. They had a special chemistry about them, but now that one of them was gone, the other was left to manage the shop.

The Weasley family had suffered so much in the war. Even she had. She had been forced to Obliviate her parents such that they forgot that they had a daughter and send them to Australia to live. After the war, she had gone back to Sydney to lift the memory charm from them. It had not been the best experience of her life. Her parents had been furious that they could not protect her during the battle and that she had not trusted them enough that they would not confide in Voldemort her whereabouts. Hermione had to make them both a cup of English black tea before sitting down and explaining the whole story about their safety and whatnot for about an hour before they were finally convinced about the dangers that Voldemort posed, which brought her head back to the situation at hand.

She couldn't believe Harry Potter and his best friends were stuck into a new prophecy, _wait…Ron is in a prophecy about couples? Pfftttttt…nah…He can't even stick to one girl, how will he ever learn to love? _Hermione motioned her index finger, indicating to Harry and Ron to stretch their hands out so that she could see their tattoos. She noticed that their tattoos were on the opposite forearm as to hers, and both her and Ron's tattoos were identical, only Harry's was slightly different. Harry's creature closely resembled a griffin, with a eagle head, lion's body and tail, but with wings sprouting out from either side of the lion body. _So it seems Harry is destined for a Ravenclaw eh? Not Ginny? Hmmmm…. _

Hermione was starting to doubt the whole prophecy thing, it was impossible that Harry would never be separated from Ginny. They liked each other so much. She caught Harry and Ron both looking at her quizzically as she pondered over whether the prophecy was really true. _Honestly, can they not understand what is going on? They're so dim sometimes I swear. _Hermione changed to her know-it-all mode and started to explain to them what her suspicions were. Ron looked shocked and slightly disgusted, whereas Harry, surprisingly, looked slightly apologetic but unfazed. Hermione grew suspicious, but before she could ask Harry to explain what the thoughts going about his head were, Ron opened his mouth first. _Trust Ron's temper to get better of him and speak before his mind actually rationalizes that he doesn't have a choice. _

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN SLYTHERIN? I'M NOT GOING TO FALL IN LOVE WITH THOSE STUCK-UP PUREBLOODS WHO THINK THEY'RE THE BEST JUST COS THEY HAVE THE MOST MONEY! HOW UTTERLY DISGUSTING! YOU ARE OBVIOUSLY ANALYSING THIS ALL WRONGLY, THERE IS NO WAY I WOULD GO WITH ONE OF THOSE PUGS. IMPOSSIBLE I TELL YOU! DOWNRIGHT OUTRAGEOUS! WHO'S TO SAY I CAN'T GET MARRIED WITH LAVENDER HUH?" Ron's face turned from pink, to red, and finally to purple when he started bellowing out everything he wanted to say in one breath.

Hermione laughed, she laughed and giggled, and chuckled so hard that she had to hold her stomach. Oh no, she wasn't laughing at the fact that Ron had no more air left in his lungs after he was done, she wasn't even the slightest bit angry that he had just accused her looking at the prophecy the wrong way. She was laughing because she had been highly amused that Ron even thought he was going to get married with Lavender. HA. Lavender Brown was the Hogwarts slut. She never settled down and never will. She just likes the excitement and not the commitment. Hermione was rolling on the floor now, tears streaming down her face while Ron looked on with his still purple face.

"You….Lavender…married…hahahahahahahahahahahahaha" Hermione gasped out in between breaths.

Ron looked uncomfortable, his face still red. Hermione managed to finally control her laughter while still sniffling slightly. She hiccupped. Slowly, rationality set in to her. "Sorry." She set her brain back to the tattoos, and after thinking about the placement of the tattoos that were different for her and the boys, she figured that she had it on the left forearm because she was a girl, while the boys had it on the right because they were well…boys. So, if she found someone around school, unfortunately from Slytherin, that was a boy, with a tattoo on his right forearm that was identical to hers, she would have found her supposed true love. She elaborated on her theory to Harry and Ron. Ron looked horrified. Harry looked dazed.

"So, Harry….why the uncomfortable look when I said you would go with a Ravenclaw and not Ginny?" Hermione prodded her friend slightly when she realised he was hiding something but seemed too afraid to say anything. Harry jumped at being addressed shrugged, so Hermione gave him one of her tell-me-now-or-I'll-pry-it-out-of-you stares. Hermione could tell she had Harry backed into a corner, as he seemed to be avoiding her gaze quite obviously and shrinking back, hoping to camouflage with the wall. She smiled, smug, and sat down on the hospital bed, her legs dangling off the mattress and swiveling herself to face Harry and waited for the story.

Harry's POV:

From the moment Hermione had mentioned him not being with Ginny, Harry had felt uncomfortable and also hurt. Now she was asking him to explain what was going on, and at first he thought he was saved when Ron started yelling at Hermione. He was actually not paying attention to what Hermione was saying and was concentrating on how to worm his way out of this situation if the need arises, and actually got quite a startle when his best friend addressed him. _Shit. _How was he going to get himself out of this one? Hermione had pinned him down like a mouse under a cat's paw with just one gaze. She was even getting ready to listen to his whole tale. _Damn. Damn you, Hermione. _

He tried giving her one of those pleading looks, and glanced at Ron, trying to tell her that he would much rather tell her this in private than in front of Ron, whose temper got the better of him sometimes. But she sent one back that was equally fierce as the previous one, it was the anything-you-want-to-say-can-be-said-in-front-of-Ron look. He knew it all too well from their years as classmates and best friends. _Darn. _He knew he couldn't get out of this one, and seeing that both Ron and Hermione were now glancing at him patiently to continue, Harry thought he might as well stop delaying the inevitable and tell them now. Better him than Ginny to break the news to them anyway. Sure, Ginny had upset him, but he didn't want to see Ron throw a fit if he realised from her or worse, from someone else. _But_, Harry thought, _I could at least make this a little difficult for them. _

"Alright…Alright, I'll explain, but first, you, Hermione, and you, Ron must apologise to each other and be on speaking terms again." Harry said. Of course, as predicted, Hermione stood up so abruptly that she lost her balance for a while and had to grip the bed frame for support. That didn't hinder her from yelling obviously, but Harry hoped this could settle the score between the both of them. He hated having to choose between his two best friends, and would much prefer it if they remained friendly towards each other. He felt betrayed to choose Hermione because he knew Ron about 15 minutes more than he knew Hermione from the train ride, but also felt compelled to choose Hermione because he knew she had more reason to ignore her friend than Ron was. It was frustrating, to say the least. Harry just wanted this issue to blow over as painlessly as possible.

"ME! APOLOGISE TO HIM? YOU GOT TO BE JOKING HARRY! I'M OBVIOUSLY NOT IN THE WRONG HERE! IT'S HIM! IT'S THE BLOODY WANKER WHOM YOU CALL YOUR BEST FRIEND! SLEEPING WITH LAVENDER WHEN I'M DATING HIM! YEAH I MIGHT NOT SATISFY HIS NEEDS BUT I HAVE MY OWN LIMITS AND WHO'S TO SAY I DON'T HAVE A SAY IN THE RELATIONSHIP! HE HURT ME AND HE NEEDS TO APOLOGISE TO ME NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND! THAT'S JUST ABSURD."

"Calm down, 'Mione, I know you aren't in the wrong here, but please can we settle this amicably. You are damaging my eardrums. Please. I know Ron wasn't thinking and his irrational side triumphed over his brain. Please forgive him, 'Mione, please? We are stuck in this prophecy thing together and the least you two could do was to be talking to each other. I'm not expecting you to go back to what you were before, because Ron, mate, you made a huge mistake. But for my sake, please just maintain a truce with Ron? Please, 'Mione, please?" Harry plead with Hermione, and immediately he could tell that it had worked, because Hermione's eyes softened greatly and he knew she was going to try. Honestly, under the know-it-all, strong surface of Hermione Granger was a heart of marshmallow.

Hermione stuck her hand out, right under Ron's nose, and Ron had to back up for a bit before he could fully stretch his arm and then tentatively take Hermione's. She let go really quickly, and Ron frowned slightly, before opening his mouth, probably about to apologise and explain what he had been thinking at that time, but Hermione swiftly put up her hand before Ron could even utter a word and indicated for him to stop talking before she lost control of her temper again. She pointed once to Harry and hinted to Ron that Harry had been successfully diverting their attention from the main topic. Harry groaned.

Both heads turned towards him as they settled themselves onto hospital beds next to each other. Harry knew this was going to take very long and there was no escaping the truth now. He leaned against the wall and closed his eyes, afraid to see their expressions during the story and also to remember every single detail that had been present when he discovered that Ginny no longer was interested in him but had started going out with Dean Thomas. _Here goes nothing, _he thought. He spoke.

_Flashback:_

"_Have you seen Ginny?"_

"_Nope, sorry mate."_

"_It's okay."_

_Harry jogged across Hogwarts castle, wanting to find Ginny. He wanted to ask her out during the next Hogsmeade weekend which was two days from now. He had finally gotten the guts to ask her after much encouragement from Ron and Hermione. He was still running through what he was going to say to her. He had been practicing in front of the mirror for about 5 days now, formulating different answers to whatever million possible responses he might get from her. _

_**Stay calm Harry, no matter what happens, you're going to be fine.**__ Harry comforted himself. He caught sight of Ginny and another figure sitting outside by the lake. They seemed to be sitting really close to each other, and their heads were so near that they could be…__**nah…impossible… the sunlight is playing tricks on my eyes. Ginny couldn't be kissing with someone else, now, could she? She loves me, right? **_

_Shaking those thoughts out of his head, Harry ducked behind a nearby tree and observed the two quietly. It was Ginny and Dean, and they were, indeed kissing and holding hands. Strangely, Harry didn't feel any pang in his heart as he backed away. He wasn't moving away because he felt upset and betrayed by Ginny, but because this was such a private moment that Harry didn't want to intrude upon. Unfortunately, his plan to sneak away failed when he stepped onto a branch, stumbled and cursed very loudly. Ginny and Dean looked up to the source of the sound and Ginny's expression turned to one of absolute horror and shame when she realised she had just been caught snogging Dean Thomas by her boyfriend. She jumped up, blushing furiously, but before she could apologise and whatnot, Harry lifted a hand up and stopped her. _

"_It's okay, Gin, honestly I don't really feel much hurt here. Maybe we just weren't meant for each other yeah? Or we got over our temporary fancy for each other. No, really, it's okay Gin, just go with Dean, be happy. I'm really fine. Honestly stop frowning like that, one day your face is going to cramp up and you'll look like a ogre forever," Harry teased lightly._

_Ginny's facial features relaxed and she broke out into a small smile. She mouthed a "Thank you" to Harry before turning away and then sitting back down with Dean again, placing her head of red hair onto Dean's shoulder. _

_Flashback end._

Harry smiled at this memory. Hermione had tears glistening in her eyes as he finished. Ron just looked like he could strangle someone right now and split a throat in about a second.

"Chill mate, I'm really fine," Harry reassured his friend.

Desperate to get Ron's mind away from this topic of Ginny's betrayal and newfound love to Dean Thomas, Harry quickly switched the topic back to the tattoo. He rolled up the sleeve of his red robes, and pointed at it.

"Now we have a bigger problem. I don't know about you, but I really don't like having this on my skin. It makes me feel like a Death Eater under the command of Voldemort, as much as the tattoo looks pure and gentle to me. What now?" Harry asked, hoping to elicit a response from either Ron or Hermione, and to get a logical reasoning as to how to handle this. His question was answered by Hermione, which wasn't much of a surprise. _At least Ron is distracted. Now what to do with this thing?_

"Now, all we can do is wait, find out who our soul mate is, and pray that we get answers. Now that Dumbledore's not around any longer, what we can hope for is that someone, out there, knows the answer to this mind-boggling prophecy."

**The next update might take a little longer please stick with me thanks! **


	6. Tales of fortunetelling Kenoberoses

**Author's Note:**

**Just to clarify, Dumbledore is indeed still alive but he is no longer Headmaster of Hogwarts School. The headmaster is now Professor McGonagall. However he will play a part in this story, and he will deliver help to the 3 couples when they need it most. Like he said in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, "****You will find that help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it." **

**There are only 3 main couples who will play the major role in the prophecy, while the last two pairs will be the two who guide them along the way and be the peacemakers when things go bad, and they will also be the one who brings three houses together, the three houses that never thought they would have to depend so largely on one another in order to finally bring peace to the magical world. **

**In this chapter I will elaborate on the remaining people who got branded, and their viewpoints. I don't own anything, just the plot of the story and the strange creatures I invented in this chapter. The rest of Harry Potter belongs to J.K Rowling. **

**I've gotten more reviews this time round, thanks so much to all of you: Kermit304, padfootsgrl79, ValerieAnn! Your reviews really helped, and I realised I needed to clarify the above. Thanks for sticking around for the story and here's the update. Hope you enjoy it, and keep the reviews coming guys, they really encourage me to update more frequently **

**Merry Christmas **

**Tales of fortune-telling Kenoberoses:**

Ginny's POV:

Ginevra Weasley sat on her bed, her back leaning against the maroon pillow that had been propped up against her bedframe. Her bottom lip was quivering and her hands were shivering involuntarily. This was not good. Just a few minutes ago, a new prophecy had been issued, none other than by that old hag Trelawney. Ginny hated prophecies, the last one had killed many that she had grown to love and care about. The last one nearly led the whole Wizarding World to crumble into dust. They had pulled through, and now, another one came. The magical world had not yet pieced itself back together yet. This time, it was worse, this time, she was involved. How did she know? The decoration on her body proved so.

Unlike everyone else, Ginny had not been completely frozen at the sight of green smoke pouring out of Professor Trelawney's mouth. She had been observing, quite closely actually, the smoke that had started to slither into the air. She had noticed that it floated towards her very slowly, and oblivious to everyone but her, had somehow formed the shape of the tattoo that was now sitting on her arm, solidified, and settled onto her left forearm. She screamed, but somehow no sound came out of her mouth. She could still remember the creepy voice that the smoke had issued out when it came close to her ear. It had seemed to try to comfort her, but in fact made her more terrified.

"_Hush child, you have a great role to play. Make me proud, and finally I shall be able to enjoy my last years in peace. Too long have wizards and witches shamed their blood with incessant and unnecessary warfare. A witch is a witch, a wizard is a wizard. All blood runs red when skin is cut. Put a stop to this blood prejudice child, and all shall be calm and well. I chose you for a reason. Don't disappoint me. Not a day shall go past without the death of an innocent if __**they**__ are not stopped." _

Ginny was positive the voice was a female's, and the hoarseness of the voice made it seem to be from an old woman. _Blood prejudice. _How was she going to put a stop to that? Almost all the pureblood families seemed to be prejudiced against muggle-borns, or mudbloods, as they liked to call the people born not of pure wizarding heritage. Half of Ginny wanted to tell the old woman to continue talking and provide information as to who _**they**_were, but the other half of Ginny, the less Gryffindor side, wasn't so sure that she wanted to know just yet.

She composed herself, and tentatively lifted up her blanket and observed her left forearm. A golden lion lay there, seemingly asleep, with it's tail awake. Yes. Its tail was awake. The snake blinked its green eyes at her, and then hissed, not threateningly, at her. The lion woke up then and yawned, showing its fangs. The snake, noticing that its "companion" was awake, lengthened itself and stretched, nuzzling the lion's head in the process. The lion merely purred in pleasure. Ginny was surprised. Aren't the lion and snake enemies? At least the Gryffindors and Slytherins were. She realised with a jolt then that the prophecy had mentioned three couples. _Does that mean I won't be with Dean any longer? _Linking this train of thought to her tattoo, she smirked, there was no way she would stop going out with Dean and instead fall for a slimy Slytherin.

One side of her brain congratulated her for making this connection and was greatly relieved, agreeing with her instantly. The other, more rational side of her brain told her, _you can't escape fate, it has already been planned out for you. _Ginny shut this side of her brain out. She was going to prove the prophecy wrong by sticking with Dean. Deep down, though, her heart knew that she wouldn't last with Dean, and sooner or later, her life would start playing out just as the prophecy had predicted. It was times like this, that Ginny really really missed Dumbledore. Not that she didn't miss Dumbledore on a daily basis, but now she really wished Dumbledore was still headmaster in the school.

She liked Professor McGonagall, she did. The old lady was strict, but she had a kind heart, and occasionally when one of her students did her proud, she would let her emotions show through and give them a rare smile. Then her mask would slip back on and she would become the stern professor that everyone had come to know again. But Professor McGonagall just wasn't the wise headmaster. She wasn't all knowing, and would not be able to provide good advice like Dumbledore had given Harry.

_Harry. _She still felt slightly guilty about Dean. Harry had discovered that she was going out with Dean, and had been extremely gracious by not shouting at her but rather giving her his blessing.

Dean was nice to her, but he didn't seem like _the one. _Ginny wasn't even that comfortable around Dean. He was kind, and easy to talk to, but Ginny honestly felt that they hardly had any common topic between them. During the final battle, Dean had fought for the school, but she had not been that close to him as he wasn't in the Order. Dean was a half-blood, and the Order had given him protection and did not allow him to join them out of fear for his safety. Voldemort had been targeting all half-bloods and muggle-borns. They weren't close. Not at all. Ginny daresay she felt more at ease around Harry than him, yet she knew that Harry Potter wasn't the boy for her. She had already gotten over her childhood crush on him. Dean didn't feel right though. Because of this, Ginny was afraid. The prophecy might just come true. She recalled how Dean and her had suddenly become a couple. It was all because of that stupid firewhiskey that they had had during one of the Gryffindor parties.

***Flashback***

_The Gryffindor common room was completely decorated in red. There were red streamers, red balloons with lions bewitched on them, red party hats, and most significantly, there was a red banner hung from one end of the room to the other, with the words "WELL DONE GRYFFINDOR QUIDDITCH TEAM" printed on it. The banner had become such a familiar sight after every Quidditch game, be it against Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws, or the Slytherins. The only time the banner had not been present after a game was when Harry and the twins had been banned from playing the sport by the toad Umbridge. _

_Harry had caught the snitch right under the nose of Draco Malfoy again, for the third time in a row. The Gryffindors were throwing the Quidditch team a party, with firewhiskey, butterbeer, chocolate frogs and more foodstuffs. The chocolate frogs were leaping from table to table, from wall to ceiling and back down again. No one seemed to care. Everyone was too absorbed in their own conversations. Harry was talking to Ron, congratulating him on his Keeping skills. Hermione sat a little away talking to Neville, and Parvati was as usual gossiping with Lavender. The two of them were giggling and blushing, their eyes on Ron's back. Ginny scoffed. Hermione was with Ron, there was no way Ron would entertain them when he still had a girlfriend. _

_With no one to talk to, she drifted towards the drinks table and grabbed a firewhiskey, tearing off the cap and chugging it all down in one gulp. She proceeded to grab another, and another, and another, taking swigs of butterbeer after she had finished with 3 bottles of firewhiskey. She felt woozy now, and her sight became hazy. She stumbled around, trying to find a way to her room, when someone grabbed hold of her arm. She tried to wrench her arm from the person's grasp, but he or she was too strong. That person led her gently up the stairs to a room, and she fell onto the bed in a limp heap. Something warm covered her mouth, and when she realised they were a pair of lips, she responded fervently and kissed back. It didn't even occur to her once that she actually had a boyfriend. Ginny didn't know how long she was kissing him, at least she hoped it was a him, before they parted and exhaustion washed over her, and she fell backwards, her head hitting a soft pillow and she fell asleep at once. _

_When she awake, she realised that she wasn't in her own dormitory, this place smelt nothing like the lavender shampoo she usually woke up to. Ginny jolted upright on the bed, and judging from the messy state of the room, she deduced that she was in a boy dormitory. Something warm shifted next to her, and she looked down, staring at the sleepy form of Dean Thomas. Dean cracked open an eyelid and his eyes met hers, and they softened. Clearly, both their memories of last night were rushing back, and Ginny had to admit she had felt something when she kissed him, not the drunken kind of high but something else. It was faint, but still there nonetheless. They smiled at each other, and Dean covered her hand with his. It was comforting. _

_From that moment on, Dean and Ginny was a couple. There was no need for explanations, or asking each other out. It was just simply like that. They had been going out for about 2-3 weeks now, and still Ginny had not yet told Harry. She was afraid Harry would get angry with her and stop being her friend, and she greatly treasured their friendship. Whenever she saw Harry, she would feel guilty, especially when he gave her a peck on the cheek everyday during breakfast. Dean witnessed this and advised Ginny to confess to Harry, but she had no guts and Dean had not pushed her much. Then one day when she and Dean were sitting by the lake snogging, Harry had caught them, and fortunately did not get angry. She had continued to be with Dean, and it had felt right._

_***Flashback end***_

Of course, until now. Looking back on it, Ginny realised that Harry had probably realised they weren't right for each other. They simply had no spark between them and Harry himself thought that it would be best to let it go since they weren't devoted to each other much anyway. Their relationship wasn't really the "couple" kind, and Harry had simply just let her continue being with Dean without kicking up a fuss. For this, Ginny was grateful. The thinking her now wondered why Dean had not asked Ginny to come clean with Harry when they were dating. Did Dean not care about whether Ginny felt guilty? Did he simply not care about her emotions? Did he really care about Ginny? She wanted to know so desperately.

Ginny hopped off her bed, glad that her legs had stopped trembling. She took a few tentative steps and was proud that she could now walk on her own without feeling like she had been hit with a jelly-legs jinx. She walked out of the Gryffindor common room and out of the Fat Lady portrait. After a few inquiries as to Dean's whereabouts, she finally headed back to the Gryffindor common room. No one knew where he was, so she figured he was in his room. She walked up the long flight of stairs of the boy dormitories, grateful that the stairs had been designed such that girls could enter boys' rooms but boys couldn't enter girls'. She could not imagine what a boy would see when they went into Lavender Brown's room. It was like a lingerie and body soap shop. Rows and rows of ointments for fair complexion and anti-pimple creams lined the shelves in the toilet. Ginny shuddered. She would never understand why girls bought those products. They never seemed to work.

Ginny stopped in front of one of the doors. No sound came from within the room, so Ginny just opened the door after one knock. Inside, she could see that Dean was doing his homework, scribbling on a parchment furiously with a quill. He didn't even hear Ginny entering, so Ginny cleared her throat to make her presence known. She sounded like Umbridge. Dean was so shocked that he dropped his quill onto the floor and swiveled on his rolling chair to face her. He overshot and started spinning in circles before he managed to put his foot down and stop the chair. He shook his head for a bit, and then smiled at Ginny.

Ginny returned his smile with her own weak and forced one. She didn't say anything, just went down to the bed and sat down, still thinking about how to tell Dean.

"Hey, are you okay?" came Dean's concerned voice when she sat there unmoving like a statue for quite a long time. "Is there something you would like to tell me?"

_Hell yes, _Ginny thought, _but how to tell you? _In the end, Ginny just decided to spring it upon him. She wasn't the type to beat around the bush anyway, and Dean knew that. She was just afraid of how he would react. Would he scream at her? Would he comfort her and still give their relationship a shot? Would he not react? Ginny wasn't sure if she would be upset if Dean decided to break if off with her knowing that one should not interfere with fate. The big question: Would he still treat her like Ginny Weasley? Or would he shun her like she was carrying some deadly virus? There was only one way to find out.

"Listen, Dean, it's been wonderful being with you together, but I don't think we're meant for each other you know? You know the prophecy that was issued about 1 hour ago, by Trelawney? Yeah, well, see I have this tattoo thing branded onto my arm which makes me think that I am involved in the prophecy and the creature indicates that I'm meant to be with a Slytherin and not you I'm really really really sorry Dean to have to tell you like this but I don't want to lie to you. Please don't be angry I'm sorry. I like you I really do I hope we can still remain as friends," Ginny finished and tears were pouring down her cheeks.

Dean looked surprised at her outburst but didn't say anything, only rolled up his own sleeve and showed her the tattoo that was also there. It was a creature with a badger head and a lion body and tail; just that it had markings just like the badger. Ginny could hardly believe her eyes. She rubbed them once and stared at Dean's arm again. It was still there. She started sobbing again, glad that she wasn't completely alone in this whole fate thing without anyone to count on. Dean pulled her into his arms for a hug and allowed her to sob into his neck. They stayed like this for a few minutes before Ginny ran out of tears to shed and her hiccupping and tremors had stopped.

"Hey Gin, there's no need to apologise. I don't think we're each other's other half. I found out I was involved in this prophecy thing too, and the first thing I thought of was to tell you that I was sorry, but there's no need now is there. This can go into the trash," Dean gently said.

He pointed at the parchment he had been scribbling on when Ginny entered, and Ginny took a closer look at it. It wasn't a homework essay as Ginny had originally thought, but a letter. It was addressed to her. The letter was so furiously written that there were smudges of ink and there were splatters where Dean had obviously had no idea what to write and had pressed the quill too hard against the parchment. It was full of emotion, trying to tell her that he was regretted ending things between them but he had no choice because of the predestined future. She finished reading the half-written letter, and turned her face towards Dean and kissed him lightly on the cheek. Both of them knew it was over.

Controlling her tears of stress and frustration, Ginny walked out of Dean's room and back into her own, collapsing onto her bed and shutting her eyes before tears leaked out. _So Dean is destined for a Hufflepuff? This is so unfair, _she thought. Fate just can't control their lives like that, it wasn't right, but there was nothing she could do about it. Resigned to the fact, she pinched the bridge of her nose and prayed for the best. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she wondered if Harry Potter was included in the prophecy. That boy was a magnet for prophecies. Chuckling to herself, she slowly fell into a dreamless sleep.

Luna's POV:

The green smoke spewing out of the professor's mouth was so cool, and when it floated towards her, Luna felt a sense of anticipation stirring inside of her. When it swirled and finally settled onto her left forearm, Luna thought she could die of happiness. This was really happening to her. She was involved in a prophecy! Daddy would be so proud. Luna didn't really care about the whole couples thing, though she expected her partner and the rest of the people involved in the prophecy would be. She wasn't one of those girls who went around the school dating different guys and commenting on their snogging abilities. As long as this prophecy claimed that she would meet a guy and reunite the school, so be it. Luna wouldn't mind anyone honestly. All she wanted was someone that would not mind her eccentric behavior and be nice to her as well.

Luna glanced down at her left forearm where there was a slight discomfort, and she saw an elaborate tattoo decorated there. She squealed in excitement and ran off to the Ravenclaw dormitories, wanting to tell her Daddy as soon as possible. This was a big piece of news, and Daddy would be able to publish it in the Quibbler. Another prophecy, imagine that, and she was included in it. Divination had always been one of her favourite subjects, apart from Care of Magical Creatures of course, though she felt that Hagrid never did expand on Wrackspurts and pygmy puffles. Daddy would have loved it if she had learnt more about Crumple-Horned Snorkacks. But she still liked foretelling events, and loved activities like tea leaf reading and recording down her dreams, one of which included a little thestral dancing in a pink tutu in a hotel room.

She jumped onto her bouncy water bed, and then picked up one of the seashells sitting on her bedside table. She placed it in front of her mouth and leaned really close to it, whispering into the opening. "Daddy?" Then she quickly lifted the shell and put it beside her ear so that she would be able to hear her Daddy's reply if he was around the shell. No reply came, and dejectedly, Luna put down the shell back to its original place. Every single time she tried to contact her dad through the magical poncho shell, there would not be any reply, which would upset her greatly as she truly believed the shell could transmit her voice about 500 miles to where her father lived. _Oh well,_ Luna shrugged, _he could just be picking the dirigible plums. _If her roommates Cho Chang and Marietta Edgecombe were here, they would be teasing her to no end about the seashell.

They weren't the nicest roommates around. Cho and Marietta liked to stick together, and they liked to gossip a lot. When Cedric was still alive, they liked to talk about how his hair looked everyday and the type of clothes that he wore. Luna didn't see the big deal about Cedric Diggory. Yes, he was quite good-looking, but she didn't understand why girls liked to fawn over him. She even saw Cho faint once at the sight of him picking up her books. _And they say I'm crazy? _Luna was used to them taunting her about her habits. The first time she tried to communicate with her dad, they laughed at her and rolled on the floor till their tears ran dry, and mocked at her stupidity. They had then walked away giggling, and the next day, the whole school knew about it, and everywhere she went, people stared at her and pointed. Luna wasn't surprised, Cho and Marietta had the reputation of having the biggest mouths in the whole school.

She remembered how someone had stolen her shoes and hid her things around the school. People had teased her of not being able to pack her things, and when she went around the school trying to find them. One of the only people who didn't laugh was Harry, who even offered to help her find her belongings. Luna had been quite surprised, the boy who lived, didn't mind helping her, the "crazy" girl, with finding her things? She had politely declined him, and she had gone on the hunt herself, whereby she had found her sneakers in one of the arches above the 4th level corridor. From then on, Luna had always admired Harry more than the others, after all, he had been different from the rest and didn't seem to be influenced by the other student's thoughts on her. Ginny Weasley was another student who didn't mind sticking up for her. She wondered if the breakup of Harry and Ginny was the work of fate. Luna may not be the most talkative person, but she was observant and noticed the littlest things.

No one needed to tell her that Harry and Ginny had broken up, she simply knew it already by just observing their awkward behavior around each other. She even noticed that Harry had stopped using his comb 150 times to flatten his hair, but now, he only ran the comb through 50 times. His hair was more wild nowadays. It was not that Luna had been stalking Harry around the whole school, but rather it was because of her keen eyes that she spotted the differences. The school took 2 days to know about the end of the relationship between the fiery redhead and the boy who lived. She only took one.

Also, unlike the rest of the school population, she had been observing everyone when the prophecy had been read out. Judging from many peoples' behavior and expressions, she could guess who had gotten the tattoo like her. She knew there was at least 1 person from each house that had gotten the tattoo. The people who showed their shock extremely obviously were the Slytherins, to her surprise. She always thought they could control their facial expressions very well, being the pureblooded witches and wizards they were. But no, Pansy Parkinson didn't join in to the conversations, Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini kept eyeing each other. _Too obvious. _At least to her it was. There was another person who could not hide his discomfort, and that was Dean Thomas. He kept furtively glancing towards Ginny, and as Ginny and him were a couple, she knew something was up. Ginny, by the way, didn't look too well either. Her best guess, they were both in the prophecy, and they were afraid to tell each other about this because of the whole couple thing about the prophecy.

To her surprise, Susan Bones from Hufflepuff didn't behave that normally. She threw herself into her housemates' conversation a little too eagerly, and she kept giving her opinions on the subject. To Luna, who knew Susan quite well, this was out of the ordinary. They had become quite close during the DA meetings last year, and Luna knew Susan was quite outspoken and she only confided in people she was close to, namely, Luna. This was a dead giveaway to Luna. However, Luna was sure that there were more Gryffindors than just Dean Thomas and Ginny Weasley involved in the prophecy. The prophecy had spoken of 3 main couples from opposing houses, and if they were two, where was the third? And that was only assuming both of them are the 3 main ones and not helpers, just like she is.

So for now, she was 99% sure that Dean Thomas, Ginny Weasley, Susan Bones, Draco Malfoy, Blaise Zabini, Pansy Parkinson and herself were involved in this prophecy. There were more, she was sure of it. The problem was, _who? Could Harry Potter be involved in another prophecy, _she asked herself. This was a possibility. Looking down at her tattoo, she knew she would be paired up with a Gryffindor in this prophecy. Her house representative, the head of the creature which was an eagle, was looking at her with its beady eyes, and the body of the creature was a lion, which was the Gryffindor house representative. She doubted that her partner would be Dean Thomas, they just didn't click. Ginny was out of question obviously. So who?

There were very few possibilities, and she suspected that it would either be Ron or Harry. She had seen Hermione Granger faint, so she supposed Hermione had gotten the tattoo and had fainted in shock. Luna had observed Harry and Ron pull down the sleeve of her robe to cover up Hermione's exposed tattoo when it was accidentally uncovered upon her fall. They had hastened to bring her to the hospital wing, making eye contact with each other. This much was obvious to Luna that the two of her best friends understood her situation, since none of them seemed too shocked. Luna deduced they might have had the same imprint on their forearms. Harry Potter, the-boy-who-lived, involved in another prophecy. This was news for Rita Skeeter, not for Daddy. Daddy would never try to make the life of Harry difficult. He had, after all, saved her from Malfoy Manor during the Final Battle, and Luna was sure her Daddy had missed her very much indeed during her period of absence, as Luna liked to call it. Both Lovegoods had been very grateful towards Harry Potter.

Luna would tell Daddy her suspicions, about the people involved in the prophecy and what she thought the tattoo meant. She wouldn't tell her Daddy one thing though, and that was the person she suspected she would be paired with. She wasn't too sure herself, and didn't want to risk the frilly-winged mumblejacks to hear her and then tell the Skeeter woman about it. That woman would spread terrible lies about herself and the boy. Sadly, despite the fact that Hermione had managed to make her promise never to write another nasty newspaper report, she still had her mouth and her network, and could easily employ someone to spread those horribly twisted and definitely exaggerated rumours. The mumblejacks could never keep a secret.

Penning down her thoughts with her fir-flighter quill onto a parchment, she picked up her last hope of contacting Daddy. The cell phone that Hermione had given to her and her father last Christmas as a thank-you present for sticking with the Light side during the Final Battle. It was purple in colour and had these strange-looking buttons on one side of it. It had taken both Lovegoods a month to finally figure out how to properly contact each other using this strange device. They had been fascinated after trying it properly once under Hermione's guidance.

"The knobble-headed pixies and gnomes must be inside this thing, Luna, this could be a historic discovery!" Daddy had exclaimed. Hermione had chuckled slightly and started explaining about this strange thing called technology, gears and elektrifity, _no, electricity, _Luna corrected herself. It was so complicated and difficult to understand that the pixies and gnomes seemed like a more plausible explanation. Now, 2 months later, Luna could swiftly navigate through the phone, even figured out how to send a message and saved her father's number in the contact list. _Strange how this box thing can deliver messages without even moving. One day I must take this thing apart and give the pixies and gnomes some food, they must be hungry, _Luna thought. She pressed a few buttons here and there, and _voila, _the screen lit up and showed the words "_Calling…Daddy"._

"Xenophilius Lovegood, home of the dirigible plums, collector of crumple-horned snorkacks, publisher of the Quibbler, owner of the rook-looking house atop the…"

Luna giggled. "Daddy, Daddy, it's me Luna, you would never believe what happened today. Oh, Daddy, it was so amazing, there was this lady, my professor, Professor Trelawney. You know her Daddy, that cute frizzy woman teaching Divination. She was overwhelmed by a horde of fortune-telling kenoberoses and told a prophecy. I'm in it Daddy! I've got this tattoo and everything. You know what, I think Harry, Ron, 'Mione, Draco, Blaise, Pansy, Dean, Ginny, and Susan are involved."

"Luna, my big little girl, Daddy's so proud! This must go onto the Quibbler at once, warn everyone of the sudden influx in the population of kenoberoses, they are particularly fond of pumpkins and kernels and might just wipe out the harvests of anyone's plants. Okay, Luna, write me an owl about the prophecy and everything, I must have this published at once. The pumpkins and kernels of the entire London is at stake!" _Beep…beep…_

"Daddy? Hello?" Daddy had hung up, and Luna placed the phone back into one of the drawers. She excitedly took out some freshly scented lavender parchment, some quills and a bottle of ink, sat on her table and started to write. Cho and Marietta weren't back yet, they were probably off spending the night in a boy's room. _All the better, _Luna thought, _I can write my letter to Daddy in peace._ Luna wrote down exactly what she wanted to say, all in sequence according to her thoughts that she had penned down earlier. Halfway through, though, Luna yawned. She looked at the clock, showing a time of 1.30, and realized that she had been so caught up with the happenings that she had not noticed the time.

It was time to go to bed. The woozy wimblewaggers had already started to affect her. Luna could tell they were flitting around her, their wings fanning some of their woozy powder towards her, making her sleepy. She kept the half-done letter into her haversack, prepared all her school books for the next day, and then curled up onto the bed with her fur hat on and fell asleep almost immediately. She dreamt of a beautiful field filled with daisies and fairies, a soft breeze blowing through the grass, while an eagle swooped from the sky playfully, nipping a lion on the mane and then taking off again.

**Elsewhere…**

The dream came again for the person sleeping elsewhere. It wasn't a nice pastoral scene whereby animals frolicked about. The dream was a cold, dark place. Elsewhere, Draco Malfoy slept on, aware of the unfeeling place his dream took him.

**This is the update guys. Hope you all like it. I'm on vacation now so it takes me slightly longer to update. Please keep the reviews coming though Thanks all of you!**


	7. Tales of dreams

**Author's Note:**

**Sad to say, I haven't gotten many reviews so far, only 16 since the start of this story, so please review more, I'd like to hear from you all and any improvements I can make to the story. I have gotten more story alerts so thank you to you all and also author alerts but please comment you would really make my day! Sorry this chapter took so long to update. School's started again and I've become increasingly busy, but thank you all for sticking to me **

**Special thanks goes to Parvati48, for commenting on every single one of my chapters thanks for the feedback, I really appreciate it!**

**Tales of Dreams**

Draco's POV:

_He was in a room. A dark one. A gloomy and cold one too. He shivered, glancing around the room to see if there was a thermostat that could be turned on. Draco was confused as to where he was. He was pretty sure he hadn't seen this room before. In fact, he wasn't even sure he was in a room, it could be just some dark hole for all he knew. He sniffed the air. It was musty, like someone hadn't been in here for a really long time, and he could detect another smell in the room, it was slightly familiar. Draco groped the darkness for a light switch. __**Come on, come on, there's got to be one here somewhere. Aha! **__Draco's hand found the light switch on a wall and his fingers pressed the switch, revealing a room with furniture and a gigantic chandelier hanging from the dark brown ceiling. With a start, he realised that this was the room where Hermione had been tortured in during the war._

_The room was exactly the same as it was before he left for Hogwarts, everything was fixed, neat and tidy. The house elves had continued to dust the fireplace and the furniture, leaving them spotless. The room was still gloomy though, and terrible memories of what his aunt had subjected Hermione to flashed in his mind and he so desperately wanted to claw his eyes out to stop the memory from playing back out again. As he was taking deep calming breaths, the fireplace hissed and the flames turned green. Draco reached for his wand immediately and realised that it was missing from his pocket. His eyes widened in shock and horror and the person stepped out of the fireplace and lightly dusted himself off. He needed his wand now more than he had ever needed it. He couldn't believe his eyes. This was Lucius Malfoy, standing right in front of him looking as if things were completely normal. _

_**.NO. **__Draco shook his head, and rubbed his eyes till they turned red. This guy was the one responsible for the destruction of their family name, the one who had ruined his whole childhood, up till the point he got kissed. That was one of the best days of Draco's entire life. There was no way his father was coming back now and making his life miserable again. It was impossible. __**Just a dream. Just a dream, **__Draco told himself. He pinched himself, hard, making tears come to his eyes and opened his eyes, hoping that he had left the realm of dreams and finally went back to reality. No luck. He looked up to see the same surroundings and Lucius Malfoy staring at him with a hint of amusement on his face, as shown by his smirk. _

"_Really, dear boy, I thought I taught you better. Pinching yourself doesn't let you get away from reality." Draco glared at him, hatred evident in his eyes. Inside, Draco was terrified, and his mind was reeling with thousands of unspoken questions. __**Why was this man here? Isn't he dead? His soul is gone isn't it? That's as good as dead! **__Lucius looked down at his son, and smirked once again when he sensed that Draco was actually quaking inside with terror. _

"_No, I'm obviously not dead son, and stop shouting your thoughts out. Didn't Severus teach you better during your Legilimency classes? Your thoughts are crystal clear to m- that's better," Lucius commented as Draco furiously shut his mind to his father, placing the iron gates around his memories and thoughts. He couldn't have his "father" rifle through them. Trust Lucius to do something like that, invading one's personal privacy. Disgusting._

"_On to more important matters, son, I shall do the talking since you seem to have gone mute from my presence. Shocking, isn't it, to discover your DEAREST father isn't dead but rather living quite comfortably. I totally pity the person who unfortunately got drugged and polyjuiced to resemble me. Terrible fate, but honourable. His family got quite a bit of money for that favour. Anyway, I noticed that you have been made Head Boy, congratulations, but also my sincere condolences for having to share a dormitory with that disgusting mudblood. I have brought some hand sanitizer for you and air fresheners if need be, they have already been sent to your room beside your bed. How, and when, I will not tell you. I have been planning to continue the Dark Lord's plans of purifying the wizarding world by eliminating all scum, such as the one living within 10 metres of you now. You have two choices, aid me, or alternatively, kiss Potter's ass and well, die painfully. Your choice, Draco. My informant will tell me your decision from your behavior in school and yes, of course, how could I forget the prophecy. You would lead to the downfall of me, yes, so I seriously doubt you will be joining my cause. You can assume your own cowardly side, Draco, but interfere with my plans and you'd better watch out. Oh and the mudblood, remember this?" Lucius asked with a hint of a sadistic purr in his voice._

_Draco stood rooted to the ground as "Hermione" lay on the floor before him twitching and gasping from the pain of __**crucio **__while his aunt stood madly cackling beside her. A wand was passed to him, wordlessly indicating to continue torturing the pitiful girl in front of him. Draco defiantly shook his head, and glared up at Lucius. Lucius' face twisted into an evil grin and in a split second Draco felt like his body was on fire, jets of pain shooting through every single fibre and every single cell in his blood vessels. It was pure torture, and Draco knew that he had been crucioed by his father. He knew what Lucius would do, he was well aware of the man's way of thinking after living under the same roof as him for a long time. Lucius would make him submit, curse him and break him until he was willing to torture the girl in front of him. A part of Draco knew this wasn't real, that the girl in front of him was just an image conjured up by this dream. Nonetheless, he was terrified that this was happening all over again. Draco refused to give in, and his body continued to be wrecked by pain, writhing on the floor. _

_He saw a look of steely determination in Lucius' eyes, the same emotion that those evil eyes have before aiming to please his "master" by killing an innocent and helpless person. Draco knew this was the end, and he desperately told himself to wake up now, but it didn't seem to be happening. Lucius' wand was already raised and Draco knew that it was only a matter of milliseconds before the wand came swishing down and he would watch helplessly as a green jet of light shoots towards him. Draco waited with bated breath. He was too weak to stand up to fight back. He didn't have his wand and was defenceless. He braced himself as Lucius started to bring his arm down. A green glow encased the tip of the wand and shot through like a tendril of light, coming out bit by bit. It seemed to move in slow motion towards him, and Draco had a glimpse of Lucius' malicious grin, hating how much he looked like the man who had indirectly brought about the downfall of the Wizarding World. Time seemed to stop, as the light moved closer and closer to him. Draco unceremoniously screamed, he had been terrified of death since he was just a kid. A split second before the light hit him, he felt a hand clamp down onto his shoulder and suddenly the image of his father, and everything else in the room disappeared hazily, and the last thing he heard was Lucius' echoing cry of rage reverberating in his ears._

Draco shot awake, his body sleek with sweat. A pair of honey brown eyes stared at him, and he shivered in shock, still remembering the empty ones on the face of the dying girl in his dream. He trembled, and all went black.

Hermione's POV:

It took Hermione a really long time to persuade Madam Promfrey to let her go back to her own dormitory to sleep. The woman kept insisting that she needed to stay in the Hospital Wing for one night and kept muttering about stupid prophecies and how they always deliver too much of a shock to students. Obviously this was not her first time dealing with such issues. Hermione understood that Madam Promfrey was just concerned about her wellbeing, but she felt that she needed some time to think alone and doing it in the Hospital Wing was just not a good option for her. She needed to fix herself a hot bubble bath and maul about this problem in the bathtub. Finally Madam Promfrey relented when Hermione said she needed some alone space. There was no way she could think in the hospital bath and the kind nurse always did have a soft spot for Hermione.

Hermione had then hastened to her dormitory after saying goodnight to Harry and Ron. She entered the common room and was surprised to see that the door to Draco's room had been already shut. _Strange that Draco should sleep so early. He usually goes to bed really late at night. _She shrugged, thinking nothing of it and went to her room to grab her nightclothes to change into. She took a really long time in the shower, soaping herself and laying there until almost all the water had been drained away. She still had not reached much of a conclusion. She really couldn't think of anyone who would want to continue what Voldemort had been doing up until his death. Most of his death eaters had already been killed, Lucius Malfoy, Bellatrix Lestrange, Peter Pettigrew, and the rest were shut in Azkaban. _How can any of them continue in their situation? _Hermione couldn't see the point. _Didn't anyone see how damaging it was to the Wizarding World during the war?_

Hermione had no answers, even after a half hour shower. She gently got out of the tub and dressed into her fresh clothes. Right now she could just hope that she would be able to find her "soul-mate" soon and get along with him nicely and figure this whole thing out. They needed Dumbledore, but he just wasn't around now when they needed him most. Hermione sighed. She opened the bathroom door and tiptoed up, careful not to wake Draco. She was about to shut the adjoining bathroom door when she heard a wail coming from Draco's room. Her war instincts took over her mind, and she immediately reached for her wand in her back pocket, before cursing when realising she had left it on her bedside table during her shower. She sped to her wand, and cautiously tiptoed to Draco's room when another wail came from within. Her Gryffindor courage broke through when she heard that pitiful noise and she rushed in, not caring if it was dangerous in there.

Her eyes swept around the room, trying to make out the shapes of the objects in the darkness and she caught sight of something moving on the bed. Out of instinct, she reached for the light switch which should be somewhere on her left. _No. Left, left, left, aha. _Hermione flipped the light switch and everything brightened up instantaneously. She blinked her eyes in the sudden blinding light and when her eyes no longer watered from the contrasting brightness, she caught sight of the lump that had been moving before. She realised that it was Draco. For a moment, Hermione was afraid that he was going to shout at her for intruding on his privacy and whatnot, when she realised that he was actually asleep, judging from how his eyes were close, and he did not even seem to notice her presence in the room when she had made such a racket while banging the door on the picture frame hung on the wall, _which, _Hermione thought, _was now cursing at her. _

Hermione looked at Draco again. She must have imagined the wail. Draco was sleeping peacefully on his bed, dead to the world. There was no way that he could have been eliciting that sound. The prophecy must be really getting to her anyway, since Hermione still had a sort of belief that Malfoys do not produce such sounds as they seem numb to pain. The more Hermione looked at Draco, the more Hermione had to admit that he was handsome. There was a certain thing that Hermione couldn't seem to place a finger on, that made her believe that Draco was really different from his father. _Was it the way that he comforted me? Is all that company simply because he wanted to rid his conscience of guilt, or really because he genuinely did not mind being with a person like me? _Hermione couldn't quite decide which factor it was that made Draco stay with her throughout the night without being disgusted by her. A high-pitched whimper shook Hermione out of her reverie.

The sound was definitely coming from Draco. He was now twitching on the bed and his forehead was creased, and his mouth open with a silent "O" like he was enduring some sort of pain. Then suddenly he screamed. Hermione didn't think, she just immediately grabbed onto Draco's shoulders and tried to shake him awake. She was positive that he was having some sort of nightmare. Almost instantly, Draco's eyes shot wide open, beads of sweat still running down his temple and wetting his blanket, and he shot upright. He clutched them tightly in his fists, and his eyes focused on Hermione, full of fear. Draco suddenly shivered, and then his eyes closed and his body slumped, falling backwards onto the bed. _A nightmare that bad? _In her head, Hermione had all sorts of questions, but it seemed they would have to wait. It was way past midnight, and there was no way Hermione would go look for Madam Pomfrey now. This was but a little problem that she could definitely take care of herself. It's just a nightmare, nothing she can't handle without the help of a professional healer.

Hermione went to Draco's bedside cabinet and opened a few drawers, fishing here and there before finding the thing she had been looking for. A towel. She went into their shared bathroom, poured some water into a bucket and wet the towel with cool water, before proceeding back to Draco's bed. She pulled up a chair and sat on it, then wrung the towel dry and started wiping the sweat of Draco's face. Hermione felt a little awkward since her face was a few inches from Draco's, but it helped ease the discomfort knowing that Draco was unconscious to the world and could not see what she was doing now. If he did, he would probably scream bloody murder and mock her for the rest of her life. She gently dabbed away his sweat and washed the towel again, wiping the perspiration that had coated on his forehead. Without warning, Draco's eyes suddenly fluttered open. All time stood still and not knowing what to do, Hermione froze.

Draco's POV:

Draco felt something cool dabbing at his forehead. He should be worried about what was touching him now, but he was too tired to even lift an arm to swat away whatever it was. It felt comfortable and refreshing, and it seemed like whatever it was that was coming into contact with his face knew exactly where to wipe. He could feel the damp thing wipe away the sweat that was coated on his face. His mind came slightly back into focus when the moist _cloth? _Draco asked himself, reached his forehead. He found himself coming back to the surface now, and finally regained enough energy to open his eyes. He was curious as to what it was that had cooled his body temperature down immensely.

Draco opened his eyes, and was shocked to see a pair of warm brown ones staring back at him. He held his breath. The pupils were moving, and they were filled with _fear?_ Draco noticed that Hermione stood extremely still and it was like she was scared of him. _What was she doing so close to me? _Hermione seemed to unfreeze when Draco did not say anything, and she gently pushed him back down onto the bed with one hand and continued to dab on his forehead. _So that's what it was, _Draco thought. _Why did she come in? Did I yell out, _he wondered. He would ask her later, but now, he would relax and allow her to take care of him for a minute or two as it sorted out his thoughts.

The dream had seemed so real to Draco, like his father had literally been standing right next to him and torturing him. He could still feel the pain of the curse inflicted upon him. _How was this even possible? Dreams were dreams, there was no such thing as the feelings of the dream being brought back to reality, was there, _Draco wondered. No, his father was dead, there was no way he was back and haunting his dreams through Legilmency. Even if Lucius was alive, he would have to had been within touching distance from Draco to have been able to invade his dreams. Draco shuddered at the thought that Lucius Malfoy could have been inches away from him if Legilmency had really been used upon himself. Whether the dream had been real of not, Draco was grateful towards Hermione for having pulled him out from it. He didn't want to think about what might have happened if Hermione had not interfered with his dream. Draco owed her his life.

He opened his mouth to thank her, but before he could, he felt a warm wet feeling on his stomach. Puzzled, he lifted his arm to unbutton his shirt to see what was wrong. Draco knew something was off the minute he lifted up his arm. It ached, even though he had not been doing anything, but now his stomach was starting to hurt too. He forced his right arm to move, and then peered at his stomach. A grisly cut lay there, with fresh blood seeping out from it and trickling down his body. Horrified, Draco looked up, but apparently Hermione had already noticed his injury and was now soaking the towel and gently pressing it against his wound. It stung, and Draco winced. _How did this wound get here? _Draco was getting more and more convinced that the dream had indeed been real and hence the wounds were inflicted upon him even when he came back to reality.

Even though it would kill him to admit it, Draco Malfoy was scared.

Hermione's POV:

Hermione, needless to say, had been shocked when she saw Draco's wound. She was glad that Draco had not minded the close distance between herself and him. The wound was disturbing. It was a nasty gash, and Hermione didn't know where this had come from. There was nobody in the room apart from Draco when she had entered, so unless the person had disappeared really quickly, which was not possible. _Hogwarts: A History chapter 25 page 120 paragraph 5 line 10 clearly states that apparition is impossible in Hogwarts, _Hermione recited. She scanned her surroundings again, there was no way anyone could hide here, there were empty corners or spaces where an intruder could have hid, and she knew that she would not have survived this long if there was really someone in this room who meant Draco harm.

She sensed his discomfort when she gently dabbed at the wound, and knew it must have hurt. Hermione would get a painkiller for him later, but right now, it was more important that she ensured that there were no other wounds left on his body. She looked into his eyes, meaning to ask for permission to inspect his body for other wounds, but discovered the silver orbs to be filled with fear. From what, she didn't know, but she could guess. Draco had woken from a nightmare, and Hermione knew from experience that the wounds she were tending to were fresh, which meant that they had only be inflicted upon him very recently. If there was no one in the room, then it must have come from the dream. _It didn't make sense though, how could dreams inflict real pain and injuries on the person? _Hermione didn't know, she would have to do some research on this.

There was nothing much Hermione could do for Draco now, and she knew he looked too rattled to talk. She would confront him in the morning. Grabbing the bucket, she gently placed it slightly away from the bedside such that it was within easy reach if he needed it in the night, but far enough to prevent him from accidentally kicking it when he got out of bed. She left the room and entered her own, sifting through her possessions in her trunk until she found what she was looking for. A packet of Panadol, and a Dreamless Sleep potion. She took a glass of water, and then went back into Draco's room. He was still staring into space, but seemed to come back to reality a little when Hermione offered him the pill and the water. He looked questioningly at her.

"It's a muggle headache-relieving type of medicine. It works quite well. Then take the Dreamless Sleep Draught, you are obviously exhausted. Here, we'll talk in the morning. If there's anything you need in the night, call me," Hermione offered the pill, and he took it after a moment of hesitation. Nodding his head once to Hermione as a sign of gratitude, Draco swallowed the pill after a slight grimace, no doubt at the bitter taste for someone so inexperienced at taking Muggle pills, drank the Draught in one gulp and then fell back onto his pillow and closed his eyes. Hermione stood there for a while, and then after hearing the even breathing of Draco, she knew he had fallen asleep. She pulled up the covers for him, accidentally brushing the sleeve of his right shirt. A glow emanated from within, and startled, Hermione lifted up the blanket, and peered at his arm.

There, lay a tattoo. It was identical to the one Hermione had on her left forearm. The lion and the serpent. She looked back at her arm. It was also glowing. Moving it slightly further away from Draco's arm, the glow faded but when brought closer again, the light returned. Hermione tentatively touched the tattoo on Draco's arm, and was shocked when a jolt ran through her, then simultaneously, both tattoos became lined with red. Shocked, Hermione stumbled backwards, and then only stopped when Draco moved slightly on his bed. She quickly pulled the sleeve of his shirt down, and the glow faded instantly.

Hermione didn't know what to make of this, and wanted to return to her room to give this matter some serious pondering. Slightly worried about Draco though, Hermione decided to stay the night, reclining comfortably on the couch he had beside his bed. Draco wouldn't wake up anyway, giving her some peace. This way, not only can she ensure that nothing else goes wrong in the night, though she wasn't sure why she cared, she could also think about what the glow, the red outline and the tattoos meant. There was so much on her mind, and there was this sneaky suspicion in her head that she had just found her "soul-mate". With too much to think about, Hermione armed herself with a notebook and a pen from her table, prepared to scribble down whatever thoughts she might have on this. It was going to be a sleepless night.

**That's it for this time, hope you guys enjoyed it. Please read and review **


	8. Tales of the Lioness Dream

**Author's Note:**

**Thanks for everyone who has been reviewing and I'm happy to say that I've gotten more story alerts already This is my first fanfic so I'm quite happy that it's proving to be quite successful so far. Please read and review so I know what you think!**

**Sorry this chapter took a while too, but the word count is a lot more than the previous one because I got excited. Thanks to all my constant reviewers. You guys really make my day:)**

**Tales of the Lioness Dream**

Hermione's POV:

Hermione watched us Draco's breathing obviously evened out, and the potion seemed to take effect on him. Slowly, Draco stopped moving beneath the sheets and lay still, though his chest still rose and fell in a steady motion. It was calming watching him sleep. He looked so peaceful, like there were no worries plaguing him at all. But Hermione knew better. She knew from her earlier interaction with Draco that he was also part of the prophecy, and that somehow they were closely related in the prophecy. One option, was of course, best friends, or alternatively, an option that Hermione was still not quite comfortable with, soul-mates. The second option would have sounded weird just 2 years ago before the war, where almost anyone, even Luna Lovegood, would have choked on their goblet of juice and laughed out loud at this.

Now, it didn't seem that far-fetched anymore. Admit it or not, Hermione was getting closer to Draco Malfoy, and they had already seemed to have a sort of truce. From the earlier incident between herself and Ron, it had clearly been shown that Draco Malfoy, pureblood supreme, did not mind touching a mudblood like her. _He's really changed since the war, _Hermione thought, now the idea of him being her soul-mate wasn't that repulsive. To be honest, if Hermione really thought about it, Draco shared a few common characteristics like she did. They both liked to read, this was evident from Draco's bookshelf which she could see right now, that was stuffed with rows and rows of books on different topics. Draco wasn't stupid either, in fact, he was always a close second to Hermione in results, which had made him an eligible candidate for Head Boy.

Deep down, Hermione knew that he was kind. The softer side of him not commonly masked had surfaced when Hermione had been in pieces after Ron's betrayal. He had held her for hours, letting her weep into him without a single complaint, only hushing her when she wasn't in control of her hiccups and just wanted to curse at everything and anything around him. Unknowingly, Hermione started scribbling down a checklist of the qualities, which she wanted her mate to have.

-kind-hearted -open-minded

-gentle -responsible

-loving -hardworking

-humble -handsome (to a certain degree)

The last one, Hermione was certain that every girl wanted their dream guy to be handsome, at least up to their expectations. Hermione was no exception. Looking at the list, she was surprised to discover that Draco had most of the qualities, kind, gentle, hardworking, and definitely handsome. She blushed. _Don't think about such thoughts, _Hermione berated herself. _It is true, _the other half of her mind countered, _he has grown to become very physically appealing and you know that. _Hermione felt her cheeks flush and was glad that at this moment, Draco was dead to the world. The other qualities, Hermione would have to wait and see whether Draco had it in him. _At least he isn't so bad, _Hermione thought, as long as she could get him to be nice to her, she didn't see the problem working with Draco for the prophecy, but soul-mates…_I'm not ready for that. _Hermione remembered that just a few days ago, she had been shocked when the prophecy had told her that she was fated to be with a Slytherin. She had immediately thought the idea to be preposterous and that there had been some mistake. She laughed.

_How fast times change. _A year ago, Draco Malfoy was annoying, snobbish, good-for-nothing, insulting, bouncing ferret. To him, she had been the know-it-all, filthy, tainted mudblood. Now, it didn't seem like the case anymore. It had become "mudblood" to "'Mione". How this happened so fast, Hermione didn't really know. It might be because of the change of mindset after the torture and the war that Voldemort and his followers had brought. _And now some of them are back, _Hermione thought miserably, _when will this all end? Is peace that difficult to maintain? _Hermione shook her head sadly, turning back to her notebook. _What happened to taking notes, _Hermione chastised herself lightly. She stared at the "boyfriend qualities" paper for a while, before ripping it out and then conveniently dumping it into the dustbin beside her. _No need for anyone to see this._

She flipped to a fresh page, poised her quill above the page and began to write down everything she knew. For now, she was sure that both Draco and herself were involved in this blasted prophecy. He was a Slytherin and she was a Gryffindor, and their tattoos had flashed when they were close to each other. That must mean something, but what exactly, Hermione couldn't be 100% sure. It could just mean they were both in the prophecy together, indicating to the other that they were both in the same boat. _Yes, that must be it,_ Hermione thought, _why did you think so far before about you guys being soul-mates? It's just not possible. The heir to billions of Galleons with you? A bushy-hair bucktooth average muggle-born? What a joke! _

Deep down though, Hermione couldn't shake off the feeling that somehow her "far-fetched idea" was right, but being Hermione Granger, who strictly based everything on facts and the written word, she pushed that thought aside for now. She continued scribbling onto the paper, indicating down Harry and Ron's names as well, hers and Draco's together side by side, with a huge question mark beside their names. She noted down the difference in the position of the tattoo; right for Draco, Harry and Ron but left for herself. She noticed that the boys seemed to have the tattoo on the right side but she had it on the left. _Gender differences maybe, _Hermione noted, and hastily wrote that down as well. Right now, her page was now full of notes, with arrows here and there to link the possibilities together.

She needed to know more, about who was involved in the prophecy, and till now, she still hadn't heard of any disturbance in the Wizarding World that caused worry. All was still calm. _Was this all just a mistake?_ Hermione wanted it to be, she really wasn't ready to take on another whole new level of stress, but somehow she knew the prophecy couldn't have been just someone's idea of an April fool's joke. Hermione now wondered if Draco's nightmare had been anything to do with the prophecy, or anything about his past, but all her questions would have to wait until he fully recovered. She fervently hoped that this nightmare thing that had shaken Draco up so badly wasn't related to the prophecy. It must have been really bad to scare a Malfoy out. _But Malfoys have feelings too, _the other side of Hermione reasoned.

Hermione shook her head slightly, and then glanced at the clock next to Draco's bedside. It was too late for her to be up, considering they still had classes tomorrow. Hermione placed her notes at the tabletop beside her and then tried to find a comfortable position on the chair. She was determined to stay here in case Draco needed something in the middle of the night due to failure of the potion or something. She closed her eyes, and only then did she realise how drained she really felt. She would talk to Draco tomorrow. Satisfied with the thought that the world was at peace, Hermione let herself be lured into sleep.

Minerva's POV:

As Hermione's arms went limp, Minerva stepped out from the shadows and lifted the disillusionment charm from herself. Albus had been right, the two students were really getting closer to each other and it would only be a matter of time before they figured everything out. They were smart students, and soon they would be working together to fight an evil even more dangerous than Voldemort himself, as Albus had said. That man knew everything sometimes. It was like he had an extra eye and a ear everywhere. Minerva chuckled to herself, but then quickly shrunk back into the corner when Hermione stirred.

Unknown to both students, Minerva had been there the entire time since Draco had entered the room and fallen asleep. Albus had told her to go to his room that night, since Minerva had been doubtful about the fact that both of her best students actually would start to care for each other. It seemed absurd to her. How Albus had known something would happen tonight, Minerva didn't know. _That man always has his ways. _Needless to say, Minerva had heeded his advice and left her office to await Draco's appearance. It had taken quite a long time, and her feet were slightly sore from standing, when Draco entered the room and fell onto his bed in a heap. Minerva had felt a slight pang in her heart when she realised what a great toll the prophecy had taken on this young man. When she was 100% sure Draco was asleep, she had infiltrated his mind, as requested by Albus.

She was utterly shocked when she felt no defences in his mind. It seemed that Draco didn't believe anything would harm him anymore. Minerva remembered how Severus had tried to get into his mind before the night at the Astronomy tower. Severus had apparently taken a long time to breach Draco's defences gently without managing to wake him up. Even the Occlumency master had trouble trying to gather Draco's thoughts. It appeared evident when Severus came back into the headmaster office with beads of sweat running down his forehead that it had taken a lot of energy and patience in order to successfully get into Draco Malfoy's mind. Hence Minerva was shocked when she felt no defences at all. She could clearly access his thoughts.

To Draco, it seemed like the danger had passed and no one would enter his mind to gather information that could be used against him. Soon, all that is going to change. Minerva felt sad for him. He was still so young, and he shouldn't have the responsibility of carrying the world's fate on his shoulders. But the prophecy had made it so and there was no use trying to avoid it. Minerva was one who believed in facts, but still she knew prophecies were not to be taken lightly for. What she saw in Draco's mind would forever change her perception of Draco Malfoy. There he was, facing his father with fear, while his father had been so intent on killing Hermione. Lucius had even tried to hurt Draco, his own son! Minerva knew that Draco didn't have a good upbringing, neither was he sheltered with love and care, but she never knew he had to endure torture from his father.

For what seemed like the first time in so many years, Minerva felt old. She felt helpless when she realised that she couldn't help Draco, and she felt resentment for what he had gone through at home. She saw a cut appear on the real Draco, but she had been warned this might happen by Albus. It seemed physical injuries might be inflicted onto Draco since this was no ordinary dream, as Albus had mentioned earlier. She heaved a big sigh, and gently removed herself from his mind. She didn't want to see the outcome of that dream. Minerva jumped when she saw shadows of feet outside the door, and then when Draco gave another wail from his nightmare, the door banged open in a flash. Minerva, with the agility unlike a woman her age, whipped out her wand and swiftly disillusioned herself. Hermione rushed in, and Minerva nearly let out a startled gasp when she looked around the room, and then paused hesitantly when Draco didn't let out another sound. She locked eyes with Draco moving on the bed, and then reached for the light switch behind her. Everything brightened up in an instant and Minerva blinked slightly in the sudden change of light intensity. Her eyes slightly teared, but it teared more at what she witnessed next.

Draco had whimpered again, and Minerva felt certain that the nightmare was seemingly getting worse. Hermione rushed to his side without hesitation when a loud scream erupted from Draco, and she grabbed him and shook him. Minerva could tell it had worked, as Draco's eyes shot open, though he was still perspiring furiously. His whole body was rigid, and then his eyes met Hermione's and Minerva could swear she saw fear in his eyes before he collapsed backwards onto the bed again. Hermione had left the room swiftly after opening a few drawers and taking out a towel, but she returned the room after a few seconds carrying a pail of water. She knelt down on his bed and gently wiped the sweat away with the towel. Minerva just stood there dumbfounded. Here was the head girl who had been teased half her life, tending to the head boy who had been the one who had been the source of her despair throughout her school years.

Minerva had been about to leave when Draco's eyes fluttered open. _Why this would be interesting, _thought Minerva. She decided to stay for a little while longer, and was surprised when Hermione flushed slightly but could not move away. She could tell Hermione was a little scared that Draco might get angry with her for being too close to him, but when only silence greeted her, she continued to dab at his face. Hermione's eyes were so full of concern and love that Minerva felt that this was too private a moment to intrude upon, and hence she silently tiptoed out of the room. She was sure now that Draco would be well taken care of, and his injuries would be tended to. As she left the portrait and gave a slight nod to the painting, she could not help but think silently in her head, _Albus you were so right. _She thought she had imagined it, but she was so sure that she could hear this reply coming from her head, _yes I am, aren't I? _Minerva shook her head in amusement, and with a heavy heart at the impending trouble that would latch itself onto the couple, she ascended the stone steps that lead to her office.

Draco's POV:

Draco blinked, squinting slightly at the harsh sunlight that was now shining through his window by his bed. The sun was so glaring that it looked as if it was almost midday already. _What time is it, _Draco wondered. He rubbed his stomach, which was slightly sore. He lifted up his shirt and saw the cut that still marred his skin. The events of last night came rushing back to him all at once and Draco felt slightly lightheaded. He remembered his dream, how could he not? After all, it had left behind a physical mark, serving as a remembrance for him. Draco visibly cringed, and quickly scanned the room, until he spotted a figure curled up on the chair next to his bed. At first glance, Draco was afraid that it was Lucius, but then he realised there were soft brown curls framing the side of this angelic face, and then he knew it was Hermione.

He breathed a sigh of relief. _Ridiculous, _he chastised himself, _how many times has Dumbledore told us that apparating was impossible in Hogwarts? _Nevertheless, it was still good to know that it was a friend and not a foe. Draco gazed over to where his alarm clock sat and read the time on it, 11am. He had nearly missed the whole morning of classes, so that meant that he would have some catching up to do. Then it dawned on him that Hermione, hardworking know-it-all, had unknowingly and unintentionally missed classes this morning. Draco couldn't help the smirk that lit up his face.

He decided to let Hermione sleep for a little while longer, considering he knew that she had fallen asleep really late last night since she had cleaned his wounds after his nightmare, which he suspected was somewhere in the middle of the night around 1am. Draco walked into the bathroom and brushed his teeth, took a good long shower to remove any remaining blood stains that he still had on his body, gelled up his hair and got dressed, all in matter of ½ an hour. He winced when he noticed the bucket of water with the stained cloth slightly away from his bed. He didn't need it anymore, so he placed the cloth on the floor where he knew the elves would find and send for washing, and then poured the bloodstained water into the toilet.

Draco strode out of the room and then packed his bag softly so as not to disturb Hermione. When he was sure he had gotten all the materials he needed for the day, he placed his bookbag gently down onto the bed. Draco knew it was time he woke Hermione up, so that she could wash up and the both of them would then be able to make it in time for lunch, before heading for their first lesson of the day. He softly approached Hermione so as not to startle her. He tentatively reached out his hand. Just when he was about to pat her lightly on her hand, she let out a soft sigh and then simultaneously shifted her body slightly.

Sometimes you just can't help but notice the people around you, and sometimes fate has a cruel way of making sure you are attracted to the one thing you shouldn't be attracted to. The feeling would swirl around you, making your nerves tingle and your senses sharpen slightly. For certain people, there would be a slight tightening of the lower regions. Sometimes your hair on your arms might stand up like you're having goosebumps, but sometimes you just feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Draco was experiencing all this sensations now, and he was extremely shocked at how just one sigh could bring out so many feelings in him. Draco Malfoy, the cold-blooded heartless bastard, was feeling a wondrous feeling.

Suddenly Draco noticed many things he hadn't previously noticed before. Her eyelashes, curled upwards in a perfect eyelid; her flawless fair skin; her soft brown curls; her smooth tan legs. Everything hit Draco then, and he wondered when this angel had descended from the heavens and landed in his bedroom. Draco noticed that there were small teardrops escaping from her eyes and trickling down her skin. Feeling a surge of pity, he could not hold himself back, and strode forward determinedly. As if out of control, his hand moved out of its own accord and gently pushed back the tendril of hair that had come loose of its place. Draco didn't know what had propelled him to do so, but he gently lowered his head and his lips met her forehead softly. It was the most gentle gesture he had ever offered someone, and this one was pleasant.

Hermione's forehead was cool and soft. Draco brushed his lips across her skin a few more times, eliciting a soft moan from Hermione. He kissed away her tears as well, something within him hoping to stop her from crying. She let out a soft whimper now, and Draco, now aware that Hermione was half-awake, he quickly caught himself and instead gently pat her on her arm. Just before she fully opened her eyes, he quickly pecked her again, this time on her cheek. He was so caught up with staring into those warm, sincere chocolate eyes that he did not even notice that there was a green glow emanating from under Hermione's sleeve. He just gazed deeply back into the pools of brown that had suddenly appeared, neither of them looking away. At that point in time, Draco Malfoy daresay it was the sweetest moment he had ever experienced, _so far. _

Hermione's POV:

_Hermione danced about in the field of dandelions. She frolicked about, twirling round and round, her skirt flaring slightly below her knees. The breeze was blowing softly at her and her head thrown backwards in delight as she played around the field. There were butterflies fluttering around her, and the place was so happy that Hermione's insides were warm. She felt like heaven. A playful puppy then darted out from behind a willow tree and joined her, pouncing around her excitedly with his tail wagging and tongue sticking out of it's mouth. The birds were singing in the trees. The atmosphere was beautiful beyond words. She traipsed down a little path following the edge of the forest, and came to stop in front of a trickling stream._

_Gently, she scooped water out from the body of water and splashed some onto her face. The feeling was so refreshing. She took off her flats and dipped her feet into the water while sitting down. The cool water swirled around her feet, caressing them as she sighed in contentment. The little dog jumped about in the water, creating little ripples and splashes to reach her. She laughed. Then a pair of soft lips gently pressed onto her neck, and she shuddered in pleasure. She tensed up slightly but immediately unclenched her muscles when a voice said, __**"Relax, love, it's only me." **__Hermione giggled and then turned her body slightly to wrap her arms around the person behind her. She pulled him gently to sit beside her and willingly leant into his embrace. The two of them sat there, while Hermione watched the sunlight reflect off his platinum blonde hair and both of them gazed deeply into each others' eyes. The only thing she saw in his was pure unadulterated love. _

_Then the scene abruptly changed. The wind howled, and the sky began to darken. Her skirt was flapping wildly in the strong wind and the dog had whimpered in fear and hurriedly dashed away. As she looked around for her lover, she discovered him missing. He was not there anymore. The water was no longer crystal clear anymore, instead, it had turned murky and brown. Hermione ran barefoot up the hill to where she was originally. The trees looked evil, and the forest no longer seemed lush and green. The whole place seemed like a desert. There were no fields of dandelions, only barren land where she stood. Hermione was extremely scared._

_The wind was howling now, whipping her hair viciously. She continued to trudge on, hoping to find some shelter from the storm that was about to hit. The rocks underneath her feet pierced her skin slightly, and her foot was starting to bleed. This was despair. Slowly, after walking for what seemed like eternity, she heard happy voices ahead. She saw her lover and another woman together, and they were kissing right in front of her. Then the woman noticed her and broke off from the kiss, lifting her head up to meet Hermione's gaze. Hermione could swear her heart stopped right that instant._

_The woman was an epitome of beauty. Long slender legs, a perfect hour-glass figure, and beautiful wavy hair cascading down her shoulders. Her flawless face lit up into a smirk as she noticed Hermione watching, and then captured the man into another long and demanding kiss. Hermione's heart broke. She rushed forward to her lover, begging him to stop and come back to her instead. He merely pushed her away, continuing to pleasure the beautiful woman, who was now moaning slightly against his lips. It was hopeless. How could Hermione hope to compete against someone like this?_

_Just then, the heavens opened up and rain poured down onto the three of them. Her lover hurriedly removed his coat on hearing the shrieks from the woman, and gently covered her with it, pulling up the hood so she would not get soaked. They held hands and ran away, deep into the forest, but not before the woman stopped at the edge of the forest and looked back at Hermione. Even though she was very far away, Hermione could clearly hear what she shouted. __**"How could he want you? Look at me. I'm perfect, but you're nothing more than a pathetic mudblood. He will never love you, ever!"**_

_Hermione's tears slipped out then, and she felt utterly broken. The rain mercilessly pounded on her, and her tears mixed with the rain. She didn't scream, she didn't wail at the betrayal. She just felt shattered, utterly shattered. Her legs slowly gave out, and she collapsed onto the waste land in a heap, landing heavily on her knees. They were scraped by the roughness of the ground, but she didn't care. The pain in her heart by far overruled the pain in her injuries. The injuries would heal, but she wasn't sure her heart would. Hermione hung her head, and defeatedly lay curled up on the ground. __**Why? **_

Hermione opened her eyes that were still wet from her dream. Blinking them away, she noticed Draco bending down in front of her, his fingers lightly grazing her arm. He had woken her up from her nightmare, she realised. He was staring at her so intensely and with such strong emotions that Hermione thought she would melt into a puddle right there and then. But she didn't, and like the Gryffindor she was, she held his gaze. Mercury pools stared back at her unnervingly. She removed her gaze from his eyes and trailed them down his nose, cheeks, and finally stopped at his lips. They seemed so soft, and when he suddenly flicked out his tongue, she shuddered. Then both of them suddenly broke their gaze and awkwardly looked away.

Flushed, Hermione got up from her cramped position on the chair and murmured a soft "good morning" to Draco before rushing to the bathroom to get ready since she noticed how late she already was. She was still in shock. Had she been staring at _the _Draco Malfoy, and analyzing his facial features? His lips, even? _I must be going crazy, _Hermione thought, as she rinsed her face with the cool water. Hermione rushed into her room through the other bathroom door and then grabbed a change of clothes, quickly slipping into them and then muttering a charm to sort out her tangled curls.

Pleased that she finally looked decent, she walked out of the bathroom, ready to go for lunch. She noticed Draco slightly wincing while sitting on the bed waiting for her, and remembered that his wound on his stomach still had not healed yet. She flicked out her wand and pointed it at his stomach. Draco looked shocked for a while and fear clouded his eyes for a second, before realising she was only trying to reseal his wound which had opened slightly again, and his shoulders visibly sagged with relief. Hermione muttered a complex healing charm to seal the wound inflicted by Dark Magic.

"It should heal in a few days, but you can always go to Madam Pomfrey if you doubt my…", Hermione was cut off by Draco, as he shook his head violently.

"I don't want anyone to know about this just yet. I don't even know how to explain. This wound came from a dream, a fucking dream Hermione, who would believe me?" Draco shook his head resignedly.

Hermione didn't know what to say. It was obvious that Madam Pomfrey would likely not believe him even though he was Head Boy. After all, since when were the physical injuries caused in a dream even real in the first place. All nightmares end the minute you wake up. This didn't seem like the case for Draco. Hermione knew he was telling the truth. She had witnessed his injury first hand and she knew that it had been fresh the moment she looked at it. No one had been near Draco before that. He was simply sleeping. But Madam Pomfrey wouldn't know now, would she? The wound would look old to her and she would assume that Draco had gotten into a fight and Draco wouldn't be able to come up with any excuse to defend himself.

Hermione nodded her head in agreement, then tentatively asked, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Draco's eyes darkened suddenly, and he lashed out at Hermione almost immediately.

"NO," then the tension in his eyes softened, and he looked ashamed.

"I'm sorry Hermione, a lot happened last night, and I still need some time to figure it all out. There must be a reason why I have this wounds after a dream. I need to know more about this. Give me time, 'Mione, I promise I'll tell you when I've gotten some things sorted out. By the way, did you want to tell me about your dream?"

Hermione turned red in an instant. She, of course, remembered the dream vividly and how she loved being caressed by her lover. She knew his hair was platinum blonde, and had an uncanny resemblance to the boy who was in front of her now. If this was a sign of their supposed "true love", then…Hermione flushed. She shook her head, not wanting to tell him and embarrass herself if he laughed out loud at the absurdity of the dream. Even if they did eventually fall in love, Hermione really didn't want him to know of this beforehand when they had no feelings for each other just yet. The tragedy of the dream was not a very comfortable topic for Hermione anyway, considering she seemed to have seen the pretty woman somewhere.

Draco nodded in understanding and then stood up. The both of them left their common room with their bags carelessly slung across their shoulders. They fell into a comfortable silence, walking beside each other till they came to the Great Hall. Draco flung the doors open and just before he went to sit with his Slytherin housemates, he gave her a slight nod, and a very soft "thank you". Hermione beamed, and then went over to sit with her friends who were staring at her. Neither of them noticed their Headmistress eating her chicken drumstick with an almost imperceptible smile on her face.

Draco's POV:

The rest of the day passed by extremely swiftly, with Professor Snape picking on the Gryffindors as usual in potions. Draco had gotten a few house points in potions by answering a question more succinctly than what Hermione had done, which had of course resulted in a loss of house points to the Gryffindor house. Many people thought it was because Snape liked Slytherins, but Draco, being his godson, knew it was actually because of the betrayal he had experienced from the Gryffindor house when he was younger. Draco, being the inquisitive kid, had rifled through his godfather's drawer once when he stayed over.

He had found pictures of a red-haired beauty laughing with a younger Snape while they lay side by side in a field. Years later, he realised that the pictures were of Lily Potter and himself. Digging further into his diary, Draco had found out the crush Snape had harboured for Lily since they had first met and how he had struggled to conceal his feelings. He had found a pensieve full of memories, and being the curious teenager, he dived into one and witnessed Lily shouting at James Potter to make him stop teasing Snape. That was not the first time when Lily had gotten angry with Snape, but it certainly lasted for an extremely long period of time, which had naturally spoilt Snape's chances of pursuing Lily.

Even Draco had to admit his godfather had been a little stupid during that incident. He had called Lily mudblood when she was defending him due to the pride he had in him, like all Slytherins do. That led to him getting shouted at by James Potter and then he was teased and his underpants were just about to get ripped off by James when the memory ended right there. Draco had kept to himself about that, especially after his godfather realised that he had seen that memory through the Pensieve. Severus had blown up, but then calmed down when he realised Draco was just being curious, but made him promise never to tell anyone about that incident. Draco knew it still pained him that Lily had chosen James Potter.

This explained why he despised Harry Potter and his house so badly, but still Draco thought it was unfair why he had to take it out on Hermione. _Oh god, I must be out of my goddamn mind. Before this, I used to laugh and jeer whenever Severus took points off from Gryffindor, but now I'm feeling sorry for them? I think I need to go to St Mungos to check if I have any brain damage. _Draco had scribbled down many notes during Potions, not that he needed it but purely because he was bored. Snape had told him after class that Professor McGonagall wanted to meet him, and Draco assumed it was because he had missed the entire morning of classes. _Shit, I'll have to make up a believable excuse, _he thought.

Draco paced outside of the Headmast…Headmistress' office, trying to think up a reason for him missing morning classes. He couldn't bloody well say he had a nightmare, because there would be two very plausible reactions that the headmistress would have. She would either give him detention after laughing at his absurd excuse, or alternatively ask him what nightmare it had been and that would be really awkward for Draco considering how much he wanted to figure things out for himself first before confiding to anyone. He couldn't tell a lie, though, because he was pretty sure McGonagall would just ask Hermione to testify since they were both late today. He knew the righteous Hermione would never tell a lie. Draco then decided to play it safe and just tell her the truth, and pray to all the Gods up there that she would not ask him what kind of nightmare he had.

He knew that he had lingered far too long and he was already late for his appointment with the headmistress. Draco quickly straightened his robes, then said the password to the Gargoyle guarding the office. When it sprung aside, Draco took the stairs two at a time all the way to the top. He knocked on the ornate door and waited for the headmistress to respond. When he heard a stiff "come in", he pushed open the door and stepped into the office. This was not the first time that Draco was entering the office, but the room still struck him deeply. It was lined with bookshelf after bookshelf of well…books, and he was sure that even Hermione would take a very long time to finish all of them which were at least 10000 pages long.

He had entered the room once before McGonagall had become Headmistress, but he was surprised that everything was still the same. The phoenix perch was still there, just that the bird appeared to be missing. The dark detectors were still on the table as he remembered, and the Sneakoscope still made strange noises from time to time. He noticed the headmistress looking at him, and he quickly walked forward and sat down on the plush chair in front of the table. He braced himself for the onslaught of the questions that were going to come, and decided that he would stare at his polished shoes while he answered her queries.

"So, Mr Malfoy, care to explain why you were late for your class?"

_I knew it. _Draco took a deep breath and smoothly answered, "nightmare, ma'am. I'm sorry, it won't happen again."

Draco shuffled nervously when the headmistress opened her mouth to answer a question, but was extremely surprised at the question that was directed at him. It was obviously not what he had expected. The headmistress didn't even look suspicious at him and she just nodded in understanding, which Draco found strange. She usually gets to the bottom of everything.

"Apology accepted. Anyway, what I wanted to tell you was that the Halloween Ball is coming up and I want you and Miss Granger to organize it. Please discuss the decorations and themes by the end of this month. You can come and seek my approval before you go ahead with everything. That's all, Mr Malfoy, you may go now."

Draco nodded and stiffly got out of the chair and controlled his footsteps. He could feel McGonagall's eyes boring holes into his back and it took every ounce of self-control he had to not run out of the room and jump with joy when he had gotten through their meeting without having to explain anything about his nightmare. Once he had closed the door to the office, he jumped down the stairs 4 at a time, dashed out into the hallway and chuckled, almost skipping back to his dormitory. He got a few strange looks but he didn't care. He was too relieved.

Draco rushed out his potions 12-foot long essay and finished it by 11pm. He felt really drained from everything, so he decided to go to bed early for once. He poked his head outside of his door, and saw that Hermione was still furiously scribbling onto a piece of parchment. Her brows were furrowed together, like they always did when she was concentrating, which Draco found immensely cute. He knocked softly on her door so as not to startle her and politely said good night to her before climbing under his duvet covers and falling into a peaceful dreamless sleep. Little did he know that things were going to get a hell lot more complicated tomorrow when he woke up in the morning and stared at the daily wizard newspaper.


	9. Tales of the beetle

**Author's Note:**

**Thanks for all the reviews everyone! The constructive feedback really helped. I know a lot of you didn't want Hermione and Draco's relationship to progress so soon, so I decided to put them back into character and changed my original plan slightly. Please tell me if you like this chapter or not and review about anything you would like me to improve on. I love hearing from my readers:)**

**On a side note, Harry Potter does not belong to me. It belongs to J.K Rowling. Only the plot of the story is original and is mine. **

**Read and review guys. Thanks for sticking with me. Enjoy!**

**Tales of the beetle**

Hermione's POV:

Hermione walked down for breakfast at the Great Hall without Draco. He was already gone by the time she woke up. Hermione chastised herself for waking up later than usual even though she knew she had been seriously exhausted due to her uncomfortable sleeping position the previous night, and of course her heartbreaking nightmare. She usually woke up earlier than the rest of the school population to go to the library and do a bit of research or light reading before it was time to go for breakfast. She preferred to read up on her topics before they were taught in class. This, of course, was the reason why she frequently earned house points for answering questions in class.

She pushed open the Great Hall doors, and walked over to where Harry and Ron were sitting. Both boys were still looking a little tired, especially Harry, who now had another burden placed onto his shoulders. Ron looked slightly more serious today, and he didn't shovel food into his mouth like a hungry maniac, but rather just picked at his food, shifting the placing of his eggs and bacon. This was abnormal behavior, especially for Ron, and people were starting to notice. Before anyone could question him about this change, Hermione quickly kicked Ron from under the table and gave him a glare and a slight nod to the direction of their housemate's stares. Being _well… _Ron, he looked around and was met with the curious stares of his friends.

_Goodness, he really is thick sometimes, _thought Hermione. _Evidently, if someone looks at you pointedly and stares at another direction, you would know better than to look at the exact same direction that the party had signaled to you._ But this was Ron, so she would have to be more understanding. He wasn't stupid, just a little slow on the uptake. She noticed that Ron immediately whipped his head back around, and then sat a lot straighter, extremely stiff. He picked up his fork and started stuffing everything into his mouth. He chewed it hurriedly and seemed to forcefully swallow it all down. He looked a little sick after that, but it seemed enough to convince everyone to go back to whatever they were doing before, albeit the few curious looks that were sent towards his directions from the people who had noticed his odd behavior. But no one seemed to question him.

Ron gratefully gave a slight smile to Hermione, but she could tell it didn't reach his eyes. He put down his fork now, and just waited for the morning post to come, and for lessons to begin. Harry was also shuffling his food around the plate, and was fiddling with his glass of orange juice, causing the liquid to slosh about in its container. _Honestly, couldn't the two boys be more conspicuous when something is bothering them? It's just like Death Eaters rolling up their sleeves just begging to be caught and put into Azkaban. _Hermione rolled her eyes and then sent a kick towards Harry's direction. She missed and ended up kicking Neville instead, whose eyes watered in pain. Hermione gave a slight apologetic look towards him before kicking Harry again.

This time, the kick hit its mark and Harry jerked upwards like he had been burned. Hermione gave him _the _look, and Harry threw himself into the conversation that Seamus and Parvati were having about Quidditch, although he did so a little too animatedly, which made Seamus stare at him strangely. Ron merely stared into space, and Hermione found it very entertaining when Lavender tried to squirm her way into his lap. Ron wasn't even aware that his "Lav-Lav" was doing that. In fact, Lavender was now stroking his hair but he was not responding.

"Won-won, why aren't you answering me? Tell me what has upset my won-won so much, pretty please? Is it that bitch that is sitting across you? Your ex-girlfriend is being a complete bitch today. Do you want me to tell her off?" Lavender was trying so hard to get Ron's attention that Hermione nearly laughed. But she put on her nonchalant face and waited for this to blow widely out of proportion. Knowing Lavender, she would start calling Hermione degratory names. Hermione would patiently wait until that dirty word came out of her mouth before retorting back. Obviously, Lavender was not part of the prophecy, and neither was she Ron's mate, because according to what she knew, his hand would glow if his soul mate were close enough.

Lavender was now stroking Ron's arm in a very seductive manner, trailing her fingers lightly on the surface of his skin. The glow didn't appear. Hermione was now 100% sure that Lavender was meant for Ron. It wasn't that she was uncertain at first, but this just confirmed her suspicions that Ron and Lavender was an unfit match. Lavender's whispering soon turned up a notch when she realised that her precious Ron was not responding and she started talking in a normal voice before escalating it into a wail. Of course, just as Hermione had predicted, the degratory word chose this moment to spew out from Lavender's mouth. She wasn't surprised, but was still a little insulted at what Lavender said to Ron about herself.

"Ron, seriously SNAP OUT OF IT! Is your ex what you're thinking about? Did she threaten you," Lavender wailed. When this elicited no such response from Ron, she lost it. "I KNEW IT THAT MUDBLOOD BITCH MUST HAVE THREATENED YOU NOT TO SPEAK TO YOU OR ELSE YOU WOULD GET HURT. ISN'T THAT RIGHT WON-WON? WELL SHE'S GONE TOO FAR THIS TIME NO DIRTY-BLOODED KNOW-IT-ALL THREATENS MY WON-WON. YOU DON'T NEED TO BE AFRAID I'LL TAKE CARE OF THAT BITCH AND SEND HER BACK TO HER FUCKING MUGGLE NEIGHBOURHOOD!"

Her voice echoed, and after her outburst, Hermione could swear that she would be able to hear a pin drop if one really did drop now. Everyone was staring at Lavender, shocked at her sudden shouting and the terrible term she had used on Hermione. Ron seemed to have snapped out of his temporary daze and was also staring at his girlfriend with a shell-shocked expression. Even the Slytherin table was looking wide-eyed at Lavender as if she had grown out another head made up of cabbage. Headmistress McGonagall had made it very clear after the war that there would be no calling of names, and the word "Mudblood" was completely banned from the students' vocabulary. Draco Malfoy, especially, had his mouth hung open at its hinges. The professors sat up straighter in their sits, and there was a sudden intake of breath from the headmistress.

Lavender looked slightly ashamed, but was still red in her face from shouting. Hermione found it strangely amusing that Lavender really believed that she had threatened Ron. She even had to stifle a laugh when Lavender seemed to be gathering up the courage and was trying to figure out whether she should just continue yelling. Her mouth opened and closed like a goldfish, and even some of the students had to control their smirks so as not to disrupt the atmosphere of horror. For a split second, Hermione thought Lavender wasn't going to continue her rant, but then the slight smirks on everyone faces slid off when she did. Hermione scoffed, seemed like she really was a Gryffindor. That girl has got guts to insult the head girl in front of the whole school population that consisted of 7 years of students and all the professors. Even the ghosts were present.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY PRECIOUS WON YOU BITCH? JUST BECAUSE YOU ARE HEAD GIRL DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN GO AROUND THREATENING PEOPLE AND SCARE THEM! PLEASE, YOU ARE FAR MORE INFERIOR TO US PUREBLOODS SINCE YOU ARE NOT BORN WITH PUREBLOOD HERITAGE. I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW YOUR KIND WAS ACCEPTED INTO HOGWARTS! TERRIBLY KNOW-IT-ALL ATTITUDE AND TOTALLY BITCHY, AND NOT TO MENTION…" Lavender's rant was suddenly cut off by Hermione, who slammed her hand down onto the table so hard that all the dishes rattled. Lavender flinched, and all the students and the professors were looking on in a somewhat curious way as to what the head girl would do.

Surprising everyone, Hermione stood up slowly, anger flashing in her eyes. What frightened everyone even more was the fact that the Head Girl didn't scream at the girl standing in front of her. She spoke in a soft voice that had a hard edge to it. Lavender, who originally had her head held up high at being brave enough to yell at the brightest witch of her age, was now losing her demeanor and was cringing slightly at Hermione. She was more afraid now and fear shone in her eyes.

"Lavender Brown, from what I gather, you think I'm a mudblood know-it-all bitch who doesn't belong in Hogwarts. Is that it? Hmm…let me see, isn't it a blessing to be knowledgeable? As you so kindly put it, I'm a "know-it-all", who just happens to do better than you, see. Purebloods can't be superior in everything they do as compared to us MUDBLOODS can they? Besides, are you sure that we are dirty-blooded?" Hermione said menancingly. She lifted up the knife she had been using to cut her sausages and then rolled up her sleeves. She slashed lightly at her wrist where the veins were and blood trickled down her arm. She lifted up her head to look at Lavender and raised an eyebrow questioningly, as if to say, "see?"

"You see, Lavender, my blood is red, and I believe yours is too. My blood is not brown, and we are exactly the same. So what's all this about dirty blood? Moreover, Lavender, I have not done anything to Ron. You, of all people, should know that I was good friends with Ron before we were an item, and I'll have you know that I'll never hurt Ron regardless of how much he has hurt me internally. I'm not a violent person, I'm sure you know that. So you can be rest assured that I have not hurt your precious boyfriend and I will never, I repeat, NEVER, abuse my Head Girl position to get my way." Hermione finished her long speech at Lavender, and sat back down as if nothing happened, healing her wound and then proceeding to eat her eggs.

A single clap sounded, followed by another, and then another, and soon, the whole school was standing up and applauding the Head Girl. Hermione looked shocked at this, and a furious Lavender watched as Ron reached over to pat her on the back. Even the Slytherins were standing up. It seemed like Lavender had really gone too far and they didn't want another round of chaos swept into their lives just because one person could not get over their stereotypical beliefs. She knew the war had torn many families apart, but she didn't know how much the peace meant to the Slytherins. She wasn't aware of the fact that not all of that had been supporters of Voldemort and had suffered greatly due to that during the war. But she knew now that they appreciated the calm after the chaos, but Hermione knew, that this was only the calm before the prophecy played itself out.

She felt sad that everything was going to turn upside down again. Hermione just hoped that at least there would be a chance for the Wizarding world to rebuild itself slightly before another case of chaos strikes. Anyway, she saw that Lavender was getting redder and redder in the face by the second and seemed like she was about to explode anytime. Hermione was proud of herself, extremely proud in fact, that she had kept her temper in check after Lavender insulted her. There was nothing worse that could happen as compared to her getting angry over Lavender Brown and then lashing out at her, possibly gaining her a detention for inappropriate handling of the situation. Hermione mentally congratulated herself for that point. _No point ruining my reputation to the biggest gossiper of Hogwarts. Not to mention Hogwarts slut, _Hermione thought.

Hermione just smiled at the people who were applauding her for her calm handling of the situation and turned her attention back to her breakfast. Professor McGonagall left her seat at the teachers' table and walked down to where Lavender was, and even the stupidest person at Hogwarts would be able to deduce that Lavender was about to get an earful from the Headmistress, not to mention probably months of detention with Filch at the trophy room. Lavender looked positively furious now, Hermione noted, and she looked slightly frightened when the headmistress strode down the aisle. Then the look in her eyes steeled and she turned towards Hermione once more, before leaning across the table and giving the Head Girl a resounding slap. She threw herself across the table and knocked Hermione off the bench, pulling her hair and hitting her.

There was an audible gasp from everyone in the hall. Professor McGonagall was rushing forward now, while Hermione was struggling to restrain Lavender's wrists. Harry and Ron seemed to be in shock and everyone stayed in their seats, too shocked to help Hermione. Well, _almost _everyone. Draco Malfoy was out of his seat in a flash and reached Hermione and the deranged girl faster than the Headmistress. He grabbed Lavender's arms and had yanked her away from Hermione before you could say "Salazar Slytherin". The insane Lavender kept screeching and struggling in his grasp before the Headmistress cast a quick _Petrificus Totalus, _effectively immobilising the crazy girl. Everyone was standing up to catch a glimpse of the scene now.

Draco strode forward and offered his hand to Hermione, who gratefully took it and allowed him to haul her up. A gasp from both the Slytherin and the Gryffindor houses were heard. Some people from Gryffindor rubbed their eyes, is the amazing bouncing little ferret helping our Hermione? People from Slytherin, always the more violent, slapped themselves, is the Slytherin Prince really helping the know-it-all beaver? Hermione rolled her eyes. _Did they honestly believe that both of us have not gotten over our childhood animosity? _Hermione leaned against Draco for support after she realised that one of her legs were slightly numb after being sat on by Lavender. _Merlin that girl is heavier than I thought. _Draco placed an arm around her shoulders and one around her waist and very slowly, she limped out of the hall with Draco's help. Throughout the whole time, the Headmistress was yelling at Lavender who had been unfrozen, but everyone was intent on watching the quiet movement of the unlikely pair of Head Boy and Head Girl. One was a pureblood who was helping the other, a muggle-born.

Harry's POV:

Harry had been baffled when Ron reached over to pat Hermione on the back after Hermione had insulted Lavender. He didn't expect Ron to stick up for their best friend but was pleased nevertheless that he was starting to see sense. Everyone knew that Lavender was the school slut. Harry had even seen her snog Zacharias Smith right after Ron had kissed her after the successful Quidditch match where Gryffindor had triumphed. He had tried to warn Ron about his girlfriend cheating on him, but being the thick-headed and stubborn Ron, he didn't listen. _Well, at least he has a pair of eyes and enough of a brain to know that Lavender has definitely stepped across the line this time, _Harry thought. _Hopefully, he would leave her soon. _

When Harry had seen the look in Hermione's eyes, he had been scared. Yes, the boy-who-lived was scared. This fear was new to him. He didn't feel this way when he had looked Voldemort in the eye during the Final Battle. Harry had more or less during the war threw his life into Fate's hands and knew that whatever he had to do, he would. But the look in his best friend's eyes were terrifying and it chilled Harry to the bone. It was a look that even a Slytherin would be proud of having. It was the look of pure utter hate coupled with a menancing glare. Even Harry recoiled a little as she stood up. Her presence exuded dominance and power. Lavender was cowering away. _Good._ When Hermione had finished speaking to Lavender in a soft controlled tone, Harry could feel the goosebumps on his arm. _Huh, not even the slimy ferret could achieve this effect on me. _Speaking of the disgusting little ferret, Harry was surprised to see that he was standing up and applauding after Hermione's speech. He was looking at Hermione with pride, like he was happy that she had stood up for himself.

He had been observing Malfoy's expression and got a little startled when he heard a resounding clap echoing around the room. Harry saw Malfoy's proud expression turn to one of horror. His companions Zabini and Parkinson also had their jaws open, and Harry would have laughed at their faces if the atmosphere was more cheerful. Instead, he whipped his head around and was startled to see that Lavender was throwing herself at Hermione while hitting her. The girls were engaging in a fight, but Hermione was more focused on warding Lavender was. Lavender was mercilessly hitting Hermione but his best friend tried to stop her hands instead of hurting her back. Before Harry could help, Malfoy was already there, grabbing Lavender furiously and holding her back. Harry could see the look of anger in Malfoy's eyes and wondered why. Before he could even figure out the look in his enemy's eyes, it was gone, replaced with a look of indifference when Lavender was immobilized.

What surprised Harry even more was that Malfoy went forward quickly to help Hermione up and even allowed her to lean on him when he led her out. The most shocking thing of all? Malfoy had a warm look in his eyes that Harry could relate to concern. Harry realised how ridiculous he sounded. _Draco Malfoy, proud pureblood, concerned about a muggle-born? RIGHT! _But it was happening right in front of his eyes and he knew that he was not the only one staring at the two leave the hall. Even the teachers seemed dumbfounded. But Harry could swear that he saw Professor McGonagall smile slightly at the pair before she started reprimanding Lavender and dishing out punishments. _What does this mean? Surely Professor doesn't approve of them! Even though they are Head boy and girl, Malfoy teased Hermione for most of her school life! How did they suddenly become so close anyways? Hermione always hated his guts, what could have brought them together in the first place?_

Harry shook his head, still pondering about when where why and how Malfoy had started seeing Hermione as an equal and not as scum. Harry fervently hoped that Malfoy was not using his newfound alliance with Hermione for something of his own benefit. Harry looked over to see Ron scowling at Lavender who was being led away by the headmistress. His best mate's face matched the colour of his hair now. Just one look from his face and Harry knew that Ron would be single in just a matter of hours. He sighed and plopped down back onto the bench. The deafening silence that had been present just a few seconds ago had lifted and students were resuming their chatter, though now most of them were talking about the incident that had just transpired between the Head Boy and Girl. There were now rumours going around saying that Malfoy and Hermione were having an affair and had kept it secret, which explained why he seemed so protective over her.

Harry scoffed, _as if 'Mione would go into a relationship without confiding in Ginny or myself. _Ron still seemed extremely agitated and remained standing and staring into space. Harry calmly put a hand onto his friend's back and patted him. Ron sat down and breathed deeply. The rest of breakfast passed by uneventfully, with both himself and Ron bouncing back into conversations, the weight of the prophecy seemingly been removed from their shoulders. They laughed and talked with their mouths full, and Harry was delighted to see that Ron was now wolfing food down like a bulldozer. This was normal. For a while, everyone seemed to forget about the warning the sorting hat had given them. That was until the owls arrived.

Hundreds of owls flew in as per normal. They were all carrying newspapers for their owners who are on a Daily Prophet subscription. The first owl dropped a copy of the Daily Prophet on a Slytherin's desk. There was a sudden shout and his friends leaned over immediately to stare at the front page. Their looks mirrored that of the boy who had first seen the newspaper. Harry was curious, what was the headline news today that was so surprising? He watched as an owl dropped a newspaper onto Professor McGonagall's desk and observed as the thin old woman unrolled the Daily Prophet. The professor turned grim immediately, and all traces of her smile vanished, leaving behind a cold hard stare. She frowned and started scanning the paper and then turned around and whispered to Professor Flitwick before heading out of the Hall. By now, there were many occasional gasps of horror when one received their newspaper. Some of the students were shaking and those who seemed to be younger were crying while the older students looked stonily and comforted them as best as they could.

Extremely curious to know what had caused the uproar, Harry grabbed for the newspaper that Hedwig delivered, and frantically opened it up to the first page. Hedwig gave an indignant hoot at being ignored and dipped her beak into Harry's glass of orange juice and nibbled up a piece of sausage. Harry usually gave her a stroke, but today he didn't. Hedwig ruffled her feathers and started pecking at Harry's fingers, seemingly determined to get a hint of appreciation from her master. Harry was too busy gliding his eyes over the words that he completely ignored his owl. This was impossible, outrageous, and Harry could see why the students were so frantic. Harry himself was breaking out in cold sweat. He glanced across the table and saw that Ron seemed confused why everyone was shaken up so Harry tossed the paper out to Ron and the both of them read the article together. There was no way this was happening again. Harry focused his attention on the details of the news.

_**MUGGLES FOUND DEAD IN 11 GRIMMAULD PLACE**_

_**2 muggles were found dead in their home at around 8am this morning. There were no signs of breaking in at all and the muggles have died from what seemed to be an "unnatural death" as categorized by the muggle police. The muggle police are now investigating this but they suspect poison since nothing was out of place in their house. The neighbours did not report seeing anything. We, witches and wizards, highly suspect that the killing curse was used here. The Dark Mark was found hovering abovet the house when I went in to interview the aurors who were disguised as a few policemen. It was apparently only recognizable to us magical folk. This situation is extremely alike to the one that happened before the war in the town of Chucksmingle. Aurors are now investigating the issue. **_

_**The two deceased are a middle-aged couple. The lady has brown curly hair and judging from the position of the bodies, the victims had put up a fight. It was believed that the lady was the main target as there were words painted in blood on the walls that were charmed to repel against muggles. ALL YOU MUDBLOODS OUT THERE BEWARE! This warning matched the words that had been carved onto the woman's back. It was believed that the woman had been raped and had the word "mudblood" carved into her flesh before death due to her lack of clothes and bloodstains on the inside of her thighs. The muggle police say that the deaths had just happened 1 hour prior to its discovery. **_

_**Yesterday a prophecy was believed to have been issued in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, speaking of a few students who will band together to take down evil once again. The question now is, my dear readers, whether Harry Potter, the famous boy-who-lived, his sidekicks Ronald Weasley, the boy with flaming red hair and Hermione Granger, the know-it-all muggleborn will help save the world again. Has the prophecy started? It seems like the fate of the wizarding world has been placed onto the shoulders of three children again. **_

_**-Rita Skeeter, head of journalism sector in the Daily Prophet**_

Harry snatched the paper back once he was done and stared at the moving picture of the muggles who lay dead on the floor. He felt a surge of pity for their family members. They didn't have anything to do with this at all. But just BAM and then they were lying still without knowing what they had done wrong. This was immoral. This was unjustified. This was the way of the Death Eaters, and Harry knew. Harry felt sick in the stomach. _How can they stomach the guilt of taking an innocent life? _But by now, Harry knew that they were cold and unfeeling, and they had been trained by their master to be master of their emotions. There was something Harry didn't understand about the article though, and that was how Rita Skeeter had been able to find out that a prophecy had been issued. He knew for a fact that she wasn't present during that dinner. Not in person anyway.

Harry suspected that she had either come in her animagus form or had an informant in the school. He remembered how the annoying Skeeter had transformed into her beetle animagus and snuck into the school and spoken with students like Malfoy about their views on Hagrid. Hermione, being the smartest witch of her age, had obviously found out and locked her in a glass jar, threatening her against it since Skeeter was an unregistered animagi. Skeeter wasn't a cowardly woman, so Harry would not be surprised if she had started using her almost inconspicuous animagus form to her advantage. It would be a breeze for her to just fly into the Great Hall through an open door. No one would even notice her. There was another possibility that she had indeed been intimidated by Hermione and had gotten this snippet of information from an informant. Harry was certain that no one had let slip this piece of information to that disgusting Skeeter cow unless she had given him or her some sort of incentive or threat. Everyone knew from the war that Skeeter was publishing exaggerated stories that were full of nonsense.

Ron was staring at his plate with eyes as big as saucers. Harry had this strong sense of dread at the pit of his stomach. _It has started again. _Innocent muggles have been murdered, and Harry was not a dumb teenager. He could see that the killers had struck the muggles living in the house right next to the previous Order of the Phoenix headquarters. It appeared that whoever these psychotic killers were, they were out to get muggle-borns. At this moment, Harry feared for Hermione. He wasn't sure that he trusted Malfoy, even though Hermione didn't seem to have a problem with working with him for Head duties. Malfoy had been a past death eater, not by choice, but still one of them. He would have to warn Hermione to watch out. Right now, they would all have to be cautious around each other, particularly the Slytherins. Then he remembered that Malfoy had brought Hermione out of the Great Hall, presumably to Madam Pomfrey, and he wasn't sure that he should let Hermione be alone with him right now, especially after the report.

"Come on Ron, let's go, check on 'Mione, she's with the ferret." Harry stood up and brushed his robes, before heading out of the Great Hall with a purposeful stride with Ron trailing behind him. Both boys were determined to get to Hermione as fast as possible. They rushed to the infirmary, where they discovered that Hermione was not present there. Panicking, the two boys rushed to Madam Pomfrey who was in her office sorting out some potions. She looked slightly annoyed at the sight of the two boys who barged into her office without knocking.

"Madam Pomfrey, did Hermione come here by chance? Have you seen her? Where is she now?" Harry asked frantically, extremely worried for the safety of their friend. Ron nodded his head fervently. Both boys were extremely paranoid after reading about the killing of the muggles, no doubt the work of ex-Death Eaters.

"Yes, Mr Malfoy brought Miss Granger here a little while ago and after I fixed her up with a couple of spells, Mr Malfoy brought her out. They just left a little while ago. I think they were heading towards their classes," Madam Pomfrey told them slowly.

Harry and Ron looked at each other for a while, stunned, before dashing out of the infirmary towards their first class, Potions. Harry threw a quick "thanks" to Madam Pomfrey, and he could swear he heard Madam Pomfrey mutter something about boys being boys. They ran down the corridor and towards their Potions classroom. They heard some sort of commotion in front, so both of them rushed round the corner and saw Hermione weeping softly with Malfoy standing a little away from her with his Slytherin friends. They were laughing and patting the Slytherin on the back. Malfoy wasn't chortling with them though. Instead, he just stood with his hands in his pockets with his chin held up high. When one of his friends looked at him, he let out a weak chuckle that appeared to be forced. His Slytherin friends just laughed even harder.

Both boys rushed towards Hermione and picked her up, crushing her into their embrace and then leading her away from the slimy Slytherins. They just kept on whispering soft words to her and pat her on the back, hoping to calm her down. As they lead a weeping Hermione away, none of them saw Malfoy's unfathomable look in his eyes, a sort of look no one would have expected to see in a Malfoy. Malfoys were powerful and unfeeling. But this look that Malfoy had as new. It was _Pain. _

Hermione's POV:

Hermione was hurt. Just a while ago, Dra- no Malfoy had acted like a dear and helped her out of the Great Hall and led her to the infirmary where Madam Pomfrey had fussed over her a bit and mumbled about jealousy. She had said something along the lines of how this had happened a few years back when Ron had landed himself in the ward. Then after she had been healed, Malfoy had offered to walk with her to Potions class, and she had readily accepted his offer. They were just chatting when lo and behold, a bunch of Slytherins were outside the Potions dungeons and cornered the both of them. They were interested as to why Malfoy had abandoned his pureblood views on others of inferior blood. At first, Hermione thought that Malfoy would defend her and start lecturing them about how the war had changed his perceptions on everything.

But oh no, Malfoy tells them how he had to act like this because she was Head Girl and they had to work together amicably or else the headmistress would punish him. Of course, more nonsense had followed. Hermione, being the fiery Head Girl, had walked up to Malfoy and kicked him hard in the shins. He had of course retaliated by giving her a shove, not an extremely violent one, but one enough to make her lose her balance and fall back against the wall. His disgusting little friends had laughed at her, and they just guffawed even harder when Hermione began to fiercely hold back her tears. One disgusted look from Malfoy had her losing it and her floodgates opened, causing tears to leak out. The heartless bastards had of course started congratulating Malfoy after he had threatened her not to tell the headmistress.

So here she was now, having been saved by her two best friends from the humiliating situation. They led her to the Gryffindor common room, where she slumped down onto one of the couches and retold her story to both boys. They had of course been angered by this, and Ron had stood up and vowed to bash Malfoy up the next time he saw that bastard. Hermione had to laugh that the boys' expressions. One of them looked as red as a tomato and both of them were gripping the couch rather tightly.

"Stop killing the couch boys, it has done nothing to you. Plus, Malfoy is not worth your time. He's just the same annoying little ferret who wants to appear superior in his friends' viewpoints. Just ignore him and let him swagger around school with his inflated ego. I was wrong. Everything he has done for me the past few nights was a lie, a hoax. He's still the same muggle-born hater that his father brought him up to be. He hasn't overcome his prejudices at all," Hermione huffed.

"Speaking of pureblood prejudices…Ron and I have to tell you something," Harry began.

Hermione listened intently as Harry recounted the events that had happened after Hermione had left the Hall, with Ron occasionally interrupting to add in minor details. She was pleased to hear that Lavender had been brought away by the headmistress, no doubt to receive detention for at least the next month or so. She was not pleased, however, to hear that muggles had been murdered again by the killing curse. _No No No this could not be happening so soon, _Hermione fervently prayed to the Gods above. She had just went back to Australia and restored her parents' memories. She didn't want to have to hide them away again. She just hoped that they would be safe for the time being. The location of the murder had been well-planned. Considering that 11th Grimmauld Place and 13th Grimmauld Place were a little far away from each other, it was difficult for anyone to notice something amiss going on. It was a very quiet street anyhow. They needed to band together, all of them, from the prophecy, and start saving the world again_. Sometimes I even forget that I'm still not an adult yet. Ah, hell._


	10. Tales of the Halfblood Prince

**Author's Note:**

**So I'm pretty happy that more people are reviewing and reading my story Any ideas on how to develop the story would be very much welcome indeed! It took me extremely long to finally manage to finish this chapter and post it because I was trying to fir my characters' characters properly and it was really difficult for me to write about Snape since he is always so sarcastic and biased. I know I take longer to update than any other author because of my busy school schedule so sorry about that but thanks to everyone who are willing to wait for the next update love all my readers. Thank you so much! This new chapter goes out to all my readers out there. Hope you will enjoy this chapter. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters mentioned in this story. They all belong to an amazing woman named J.K Rowling. Only the plot of this story belongs to me. All hail the creative J.K Rowling, who created Harry Potter and all the characters out of scratch. My life would have never been the same without this. Harry Potter is my childhood. **

**Clarification for this chapter: Snape is not dead. He didn't get murdered by Nagini.**

**Tales of the Half-Blood Prince**

Draco's POV:

Draco felt really really really horrible inside, and some part of him was shriveling up bit by bit when he remembered what he had done. He had made a girl cry, and not just any girl, but Hermione Jean Granger, muggle-born extraordinaire. Years ago, Draco would have silently congratulated herself. This was no simple feat. But now, Draco felt wretched inside. He knew he shouldn't have done such a thing, but what else could he do? He couldn't have his friends doubt him, so he had done the only thing he knew he could do well. _Lie. _He had lied about not caring about Hermione and was only helping and talking to her because if not he would get hell from McGonagall. Of course, his Slytherin friends had accepted his lie immediately. Draco would not be feeling this horrible now if he had not seen the look in Hermione eyes. The look of utterly betrayal sliced through his heart like a thousand knives. And worst of all, Draco had hit a girl. He had shoved Hermione in retaliation when she kicked him. Draco had promised himself never to hurt a girl, but now he had. This was not what his mother had brought him up to be.

He felt so ashamed of himself. Hermione had been crying and was brought away by her best friends. Draco didn't know what to do now. He was so full of pride for himself that when his "friends" had questioned his motives, he had become the coward he was before the war and immediately lied through his teeth. He was too much of a coward to go against the famous pureblooded beliefs in Slytherin and defend Hermione. He recalled even giving Hermione a disgusted look when he caught Astoria looking at him skeptically. That had been difficult, but he had been trained by his father to deliver false expressions. His friends had been laughing and laughing till tears had been streaming down their cheeks, while Draco just stood stonily at the side trying to give out a weak chuckle. He had been congratulated. A few years back, Draco would have felt so proud at this and would be puffing his chest out and making girls swoon. Now, he wondered if his friendly relationship with Hermione was more important and whether gaining acceptance from his housemates were worth destroying his friendship with 'Mione.

"Hello, earth to Draco?" A hand was waving itself back and forth of Draco's face, which startled Draco out of his thoughts. Nott was trying to shake Draco out of his daze while the other Slytherins were looking at him with concern. Draco forced out a smirk and then the Slytherins were back at it again, patting him on the back and then most of them dispersed, walking away with their best buddies and recounting the incident with a grin on their faces. Only two Slytherins remained now. They were his closest friends whom he knew he could trust. Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zaibini. Blaise mouthed, _wanna talk? _Draco found himself nodding as the trio made their way to the Heads common room. He mumbled the password to the portrait and it swung forward for him after the occupants of the painting looked a little disgustedly at him. No doubt the incident had spread like wildfire from picture to picture and now everyone knew. Draco just walked in ashamed, unable to meet the gaze of the painting and Blaise and Pansy followed him in. He was glad that Hermione was not back in the dormitory, as this would have made their conversation really awkward. He wasn't ready to face the wrath of Hermione yet. He just needed some time.

For privacy, Draco led his friends into his room, where he proceeded to put up a whole bunch of silencing charms and locking charms to ensure that Hermione would not be able to overhear what he was saying to his friends. After all, she didn't trust him now, least of all his housemates and best pals. Draco knew after this incident, all the perceptions that Hermione once had of him would change, and she would go back to hating him like she used to. He sighed. He deserved this. Pansy and Blaise were looking worriedly at him now, and Draco knew he must look quite terrible. He didn't know what to say to his friends, really, _would they mock him if he told them about his friendship with Hermione?_ The silence in the room prolonged, and Pansy and Blaise merely shifted themselves to a comfortable position on the bed. His friends knew him all too well, they knew he would talk when he felt up to it. When he didn't, there was no point forcing him to. Nobody ever got anything out from him willingly. Not even Bellatrix when he tortured him once, thinking that he had been lying when he said he didn't recognize Potter. He was a brilliant Occlumens, and was as stubborn as a mule. Nothing, almost nothing, could persuade him to change his mind.

Draco knew that the three of them were practically outcasts now. Even though his Malfoy name was still greatly feared within the Slytherin community, he wasn't their so-called Slytherin prince anymore. Everyone knew that those who had been in the Dark Side during the war was in Azkaban after numerous trials, or were dead, or were soul-less. Draco had been amongst the few who had been pardoned, together with his two friends and his mother. Blaise and Pansy had remained neutral during the war, despite Pansy being a complete bitch to Hermione during their school years. They had not taken sides and had chosen to flee from the Wizarding World for a brief period. They were not guilty for fighting against the light side, and none of their family members were convicted even though their fathers had been Death Eaters when they had fled. Both of them knew it was lucky that Voldemort had been preoccupied with killing Harry Potter and murdering muggle neighbourhoods to threaten the Golden Trio that he had not deployed any of his followers to track down Mr Zabini and Mr Parkinson. Hence, both families had managed to survive through the war unscathed. Draco, however, was an entirely different story. He had taken part in the war, serving Voldemort, but not out of free will. The court had not charged both himself and his mother because of their last minute switch of sides. Due to Narcissa's lie, Harry had managed to vanquish the Dark Lord once and for all. For that, his mother had been pardoned. Lucius Malfoy's trial was one of the quickest. Everyone had looked at him in disgust and almost immediately after all the truths came tumbling out of his mouth under Veritaserum, he had been sentenced to the Kiss. Draco Malfoy thought he was doomed when he had been summoned and Harry Potter was to testify. He knew that he was going to Azkaban and prayed to all the Gods above that there would be a miracle.

His prayers had miraculously been answered, and it was to his relief when Potter had relayed the events of Dumbledore's death and how Draco had been forced to do it. Potter spoke of how Draco had been too frightened to kill Dumbledore and instead Snape had finished the task under Dumbledore's orders. He told of how Draco was close to accepting protection from Dumbledore and how distraught and torn he had been. Snape's memory had also been brought forward and everyone was convinced that he had been young and foolish and afraid, and should not be held responsible for his father's mistakes. After all, his family's life had been at stake and even though Draco could care less about his father's death, he loved his mother dearly. After Potter's "heartwarming" testimony, where a few of the Wizengamot were brushing away tears, he had been pardoned with a warning. The two formal mortal enemies had exchanged a nod and Draco's mother had done a very un-Malfoy-like thing by getting onto her knees and thanking Potter for helping her son. Potter had flushed deeply and Draco had to try very hard not to snicker at his expression before helping Narcissa up and muttering many "no problems" under his breath. By now, Draco's mother was a blubbering mess and had hugged Potter very hard. Clearly, Potter had kept cool even in front of Voldemort, but now, he was clearly at a loss of what to do. He was awkwardly patting her back and trying to calm her down.

Draco had decided to step in at that moment and placed a gentle hand on his mother's shoulders. His mother threw her arms around him and erupted into a fit of sobs again, all the while mumbling "my sweet Draco, my baby boy". Potter had laughed out loud and Draco had given him one of his best laugh-again-or-tell-anyone-and-you-are-dead looks. Draco had led his mother to the fireplace where they had flooed out of the ministry after shaking Potter's hand. They had immediately let go after that brief moment and then his mother and him had apparated home. His mother had then spent the rest of the entire day weeping softly in joy before finally composing herself when Draco went to bed, claiming that he was extremely tired. Once inside his room, Draco had jumped about in his room, startling his eagle owl Artemis, who gave an indignant hoot at being awakened. He jumped on his bed for a brief moment while his owl flapped its wings angrily. After a while, Draco felt more calm and then snuggled under his covers after patting and apologizing to Artemis. He was overjoyed at being free. From that day on, Draco swore never to insult the Golden Trio again, or hurt them in any way. _Until today. _

Draco let out a resigned sigh. He turned to face Pansy and Blaise, who were both watching him with pensive expressions on their faces. Skipping over the unimportant facts, Draco relayed to them the friendship between Hermione and himself, leaving out the breakup between Hermione and the Weasel.

"This past few days have been extremely crazy. For one, I've formed a friendship with Hermione Granger, muggle-born extraordinaire. You cannot begin to believe how much I like having conversations with her. She is intelligent and she's extremely forgiving. But she couldn't have expected me to change suddenly and become all Gryffindor and brave, now could she? Inside, I'm still that little boy who was afraid of standing up for himself and trying to gain popularity. I've messed everything up now. She won't want to talk to me anymore. IS THIS PAYBACK FOR BEING ON THE WRONG SIDE DURING THE WAR? IS IT? I CAN'T BELIEVE JUST THAT ONE MOMENT OF COWARDICE WOULD CAUSE THIS. I GAINED TRUST, AND NOW I'VE LOST IT! I'M A BLOODY FUCKING IDIOT BUT I CAN'T HELP IT. I'M SCARED OF GOODNESS-KNOWS-WHAT AND FUCK THIS, BUT I STILL FEEL THE THRILL OF POPULARITY, AND I WANT TO FEEL SUPERIOR. Fuck, I'm just like my father."

Draco sagged down onto the couch again, after having stood up furiously in the middle of his outburst. He placed his head onto his hands, _how had this happened? I told myself that I hate my father's ways and detest his beliefs, but here I am, I'm just as bad as him. Oh god. What have I done? _He stayed like that for a long time, and his friends were silent. They didn't disturb his peace, merely patting him on the back before leaving him to his peace. Draco lifted his head slightly, and was met by the gentle gazes of his two friends. They understood. That was enough for Draco. He got up from the couch and trudged over to his bedroom. Even though he doubted Hermione would return anytime soon, he wasn't going to take his chances. Draco couldn't face her now. He needed to think things through. He cast a strong locking and silencing spell around his room and angered, he picked up the nearest object, his mirror and threw it against the wall. It shattered upon impact. It made Draco feel better by a smidgen, relieving his anger, but this was childish and he knew it. Digging out a bottle of Firewhiskey, he drank his sorrows away, and then as his eyelids started to droop shut, the bottle fell with a clink out of his hands and he slumped over on his table, completely knocked out from the whiskey.

Blaise's POV:

Blaise was a quiet man, but he was not unobservant. Whenever he was quiet, he took in every little detail of his surroundings, which possibly made him the most dangerous Slytherin, since he knew everything about everyone. He knew that Astoria had lost her virginity to Marcus Flint back in 4th year, and her sister Daphne had been disapproving and even argued with Astoria. The two sisters had kept it quiet though, choosing to appear like everything was fine in public, but Blaise knew better. He knew that Harry Potter kept his wand hidden underneath the sleeve of his robes, and that Hermione Granger had a pet cat named Crookshanks. He knew the behaviours of practically everyone and understood their characters. Blaise could see through lies immediately and focused on the most mundane acts that gave him a clue as to how someone was feeling.

If someone were to compare him to a character in a muggle book, they would say he was like Jasper Cullen in the Twilight series. He was cool and mostly kept to himself, but Jasper could influence people's emotions and sense them. This made him the most observant of the Cullen cult, and Blaise was exactly the same, without the whole supernatural fast-speed fiction. Blaise was able to completely mask his emotions, and he was second best at Occlumency in his house, with Draco being the best. It was hard to penetrate through the metal walls of his mind, even when he was feeling particularly emotional or even when he was drunk, which made him appear extremely mysterious to the people whom he was not close to, which was practically everyone except for Pansy and Draco. Blaise liked it this way. He liked his privacy, and since no one stuck their noses into his business, he was a relatively good student who never went out of his way to cause harm to others. Although he had been really good friends with Draco since they were kids, Blaise didn't take part in any of the disputes or duels that Draco had against the Golden Trio. Despite this, he was still very close to Draco.

Draco treated him like an equal, and it was not the same as his bodyguards Crabbe and Goyle. Both of them didn't count as friends, they were merely a security and people you keep beside you to make yourself feel good. It was almost like "friends with benefits", except not _that _kind of benefits. Blaise shuddered. The muggle movie that he had watched on the "teffilision" when he was hiding out in muggle London gave him a totally new insight to that phrase. After that, he had made sure to look at the rating of the movie before borrowing it. Now, as Blaise trudged down the cold corridors leading to the Slytherin common room, he wondered what exactly was the factor that had kept Draco and himself together despite their different positions in the War and their different behaviours in school. _Maybe it's because I never really stuck to him like my life depended on it, and maybe he admires that I can stand on my own two feet and make decisions for myself. _

Blaise had always liked Draco, the other side of Draco: the Draco who was not busy with gaining fame and getting into his father's good books. That was the Draco that he and Pansy knew about, the reserved and funny Draco. Whenever Draco was around his posse though, he went out of his way to make the Golden Trio's life a living nightmare, which of course made his father pleased and in turn his housemates respected him. The Draco in public was a conniving little bastard, who had been deeply confused and unable to think for himself. But that was eons ago before the war when Draco was still a little boy who hung onto his father's every word. Gone was that twitchy little ferret who didn't think about what he was doing. Now, Draco was different, and he had made sure Blaise and Pansy knew that he was not like his father. This Draco had disappeared today in a moment of panic, and the old Draco had resurfaced, once again hurting Granger. Blaise had stood by silently as Draco stood there conflicted between helping Granger, and defending himself. He had chosen the safer side.

Blaise was disappointed in him for doing that, but he understood. These things, like pride and the need to belong, had been deeply rooted into Draco's very being from the day he was born. His father had lectured him on and on about Slytherin pride and how Draco should treat those without pureblood status as unworthy and lowly. This had of course changed after the war and Blaise was very sure that Draco no longer thought this way. After all, the brightest witch of her age was a muggle-born! When Draco had chosen to defend himself and ridicule the Head Girl, he had a look of pride, but it was gone in a split second when he looked at Granger. What was pride was now replaced by pain. It was obvious that Draco no longer felt pleasure in doing this, but because of his pride, he had not done anything. This was the Draco who had always wanted to belong in the "in" crowd, which in Slytherin, was the "do-whatever-is-possible-to-upset-the-Gryffindor-princess" crowd.

When Draco had exploded just now, Blaise knew then and there that that boy was not his father. Sure, they had the same physical appearances; blonde hair, high cheekbones, the posture of aristocracy, but their hearts were quite different indeed. Draco had expressed his hate for his father and fear of being exactly like him, and in situations like this, he knew better than to interfere. This had happened before, the night before Draco had been supposed to kill Dumbledore, and he had broke down, not wanting to be a murderer like his father. Blaise had sat there calmly letting him vent his anger, and gradually Draco managed to calm down. That boy was just a poor misled child, and in the end, he hadn't been able to complete his task.

Blaise would talk to him tomorrow. He stood outside the portrait leading to the Slytherin Dungeons for a while, praying that this prophecy that they were part of would change perceptions for the better and let them prove that not all Slytherins were evil conniving bastards, then whispered the password, swiftly entering the common room and heading up to the boy dormitories. He gently pushed the door open and whirled around, shutting the door behind him with a click before falling onto his bed and staring up at the ceiling. He stayed like that for a long time, thinking about how he was going to explain Draco's absence from class, since he was sure that boy would not go to class and was probably already drunk on several bottles of firewhiskey, and pondered about their—Pansy, Draco, and his—past, present and the future.

Hermione's POV:

Hermione gathered her wits pretty soon after hearing about the piece of news from her best friends. She still needed to go to class. There was no way she would allow some stupid run-in with Malfoy to ruin the rest of her day. Additionally, Hermione now needed to see the piece of news for herself, and that could be easily done once she had finished whatever assignment assigned to them. She grabbed Harry's issue of the Prophet and slipped it into her tote bag, then hurriedly rushed down the corridor to Potions. She was sure that Professor Snape would deduct house points and give her a detention, but she couldn't care less anymore. This was important. It was the clue to what could be happening in the prophecy, and judging from the murders, Hermione could guess Voldemort supporters were at it again. She just needed to find specific pieces of evidences and information hidden between the lines to show who these murderers were targeting. This was her responsibility. She was war hero Hermione Granger after all, was she not?

She stepped into the Potions classroom, shivering from the chill of the dungeons. She mumbled an incoherent apology to Snape and accepted his deduction of house points and his issue of a detention without arguing back for the first time. She scoffed. Even though Snape had fought with them during the War, he was still as biased as ever and hated Gryffindors. Harry had confronted him about Lily and he seemed to be a little nicer to them, but it was an imperceptible smidgen. Snape still enjoyed swooping around the school in his black cloak and deducting points from unsuspecting Gryffindors for offences like taking a library book outside of the school. It was ridiculous, really. The greasy-haired professor gave her a disbelieving look as she passed, but Hermione knew he had caught sight of the article that was sticking out of her bag, judging from the widening of his eyes. She quickly scanned the classroom for an empty seat and thankfully there was one next to her best friends. She plopped herself down and took out the Prophet.

Placing it underneath her Potions notes, she began to read it in great detail, rereading it a few times before taking out some parchment and quill to jot down notes about the murder. It was obvious that the killers were targeting muggle-borns since they had left a subtle warning in the house of the two victims. She read through the description of the couple again and goosebumps involuntarily broke out when she realised the woman had brown curly hair. _That's what I look like, could it be…_ Hermione frantically skipped to the part about the gruesome murder, and this time, she felt really frightened. The carving of the word "mudblood", the desire to torture the victims before killing them. This crime matches the character of the muggle-born hater Bellatrix Lestrange. And if she was out to target her again…_Calm down 'Mione, this may not be what you think. Besides, she got killed my Mrs Weasley, and you saw that with your own eyes. There's no way she's out to get you. Besides, _Hermione thought, _it says the victim was raped. She didn't think Lestrange was the one for this. It was more of Greyback…Oh god. No, no, no he died, he got killed by one of the aurors during the Final Battle. Relax, take deep breaths…_

Hermione yelped slightly as the paper was snatched from under her Potions notes that she had already done up weeks prior to the lesson. She looked upwards to see the Prophet clenched tightly in Snape's hand as he fingered the paper while his eyes stared down at her from above his hooked nose. Hermione saw her sneer and piercing gaze, and she had a feeling what Snape was going to say. _Seriously, after all these years, that guy's still a right ol' git,_ thought Hermione.

"And what seems to be so important here Miss Granger, that requires your attention more urgently than listening to my lecture? Ah, I see you have done all your notes prior to the class, now don't interrupt me Miss Granger," he drawled as Hermione opened her mouth, "I know you haven't written a single letter on your parchment since the start of class. So let's see, what is so interesting in the paper today hmm? Ah, I see, of course, war hero Miss Granger has sensed a piece of crisis and can't wait to save the Wizarding World again! Well, there's nothing in here to worry yourself over Miss Granger, I assure you that the Ministry will take charge of investigations. 50 points from Gryffindor for reading non-related material in my class and another 10 off for wanting to interrupt me just now. Detention tonight at 10pm. Anything you would like to say Miss Granger?" Hermione had an indignant look on her face but she shook her head from side to side, knowing better than to argue with him.

"Good, now if you all dunderheads would turn to page 890 of your potions textbook. Well, go on, what are you waiting for?" Snape sneered one last time at Hermione before whirling around and gliding back to the front of the class.

Hermione scoffed. If she hadn't heard accounts of what Snape had did for them during the battle, she would still believe he was evil. He was still the professor that everyone disliked the most, well, apart from the Slytherins of course. If Harry hadn't told her about Snape's patronus, Hermione would automatically assume that it would be a bat since he always seemed to walk around like one. _That man really needs to get his priorities straight, _Hermione thought while rolling her eyes. She reluctantly turned the pages of her book to 890 and sat there stoic throughout the rest of the lesson. Harry and Ron kept shooting her glances from the side but she ignored them. She chose to observe the class instead, and realised that Malfoy was not amongst the students and there was one empty seat at the Slytherin side of the room. _Huh, coward. _

She was sure he was probably hiding in his room like the coward he was, not daring to come out and possibly face her wrath. _Good, _Hermione thought, _let him be scared of me. Let him regret what he did. It's about time. _Hermione wasted the rest of the time away, and then the minute Snape dismissed them, she went straight out of the dungeons and into her next class, not paying to all the remaining lessons of the day. She was too busy thinking about the prophecy. She was glad she had somewhat of a photographic memory to remember almost all the details of the article. Hermione was actually deciding whether she should hide her family away again, but at the end of the day, she deduced she was being silly and she should wait for things to become clearer before making a decision. She honestly had no heart to place her parents into a life of lies again.

She glanced at the clock and sighed, the rest of the classes had passed in a blur while she sat in a daze trying to comfort herself that this was possibly an isolated case and that Snape was right and the ministry was already looking into it. However, the more rational part of her knew that this was not the case. The ministry was still so busy with rebuilding the foundations of the Wizarding World, and after the war, there were architectures to be refurbished, laws to be put in place, and the whole auror department was going out of their minds trying to make sure that no Death Eaters had been unaccounted for. The court room was a busy one nowadays, as there were many minor Death Eaters being tried. There had of course been widespread news coverage about Bellatrix Lestrange being killed my Molly Weasley and how Lucius Malfoy, Travers, Rowle, and other major Death Eaters had been sentenced to the Dementor's Kiss. She hoped the ministry had missed out anyone important, and that they would look into this case thoroughly soon. Hermione knew that there were only a few aurors being dispatched to poke around the murder scene, the rest were busy doing paperwork and running through the lists of suspected death eaters.

Hermione knew that it was time to go for detention with Professor Snape. She felt slightly remorseful for not listening during the classes, but she was on edge when she heard about the article. She lay back on her bed for a few minutes, and closed her eyes, appreciating the peace around her before flashing them open and leaping off it and rushed to the dungeons. She figured being a bit late won't hurt, and when she left, she couldn't help but realise that the door to Malfoy's room was locked. She had even placed her ear on his door and listened in for any kind of movement, but there had been none and she realised he had either put up a silencing charm on his room, or fallen asleep, or both. She walked down the dimly lit corridors, and politely knocked on the door leading towards the potions professor's office, after making sure she looked like she was flustered and had been in a hurry. Hermione was in no mood for detention. She had hoped she could spend more time thinking about the current problem or even better still, study for her upcoming NEWTs. Hermione knew Harry and Ron had told her countless times that she had been prepared for her NEWTs since 2nd year, but she still wanted to review all her notes and make sure that she would achieve the desired results. When she heard a "come in", she lightly pushed open the door and stepped into the chilly room, making sure to pant slightly.

Snape was sitting calmly behind his mahogany table and grading assignments. He looked up evenly at Hermione as she entered and gave her a nod of acknowledgement, though his hand never stopped grading the parchment. He gestured to her to sit down and Hermione sat down cautiously, preparing herself to get lectured about being one minute late. Surprisingly, the professor merely thrust a thick stack of unmarked assignments to her and slid a bottle of red ink and a quill in front of her. She looked down at the parchments in shock, she had been expecting to clean cauldrons without magic, or even a fifteen minute lecture about how she had been disrespectful in class.

"Grade these parchments in one hour, Miss Granger, they are 6-foot essays on the properties of the moonstone, and they are the works of first-years. My eyes are just burning from these terribly wrong facts that they have listed in this essay. Their work is almost as atrocious as Mr Potter and his sidekick. I trust you know how slipshod their work is, those imbeciles, but you have always had the reputation of a know-it-all, and I'm sure you would have no idea giving them proper grades and correcting their ridiculous mistakes, am I right, Miss Granger?" Snape addressed her snidely.

Hermione blushed slightly and nodded her head frantically in response to his question. _Had Snape just complimented me indirectly? And what happened to the lecture? _She didn't question his motives, but rather hurriedly picked up the quill and started grading the work. She giggled slightly as she went through each parchment. Snape had been right, the essays were very alike to those that Harry and Ron had handed in to Snape when she had refused to help them. Snape looked up at her almost boredly and she flushed slightly and looked down again but not before catching a slight smirk at the corner of the professor's lips. She scribbled accurate facts onto the papers and cancelled out the errors. Most of the students received a D from her. At the end of an hour, her hand was throbbing from the grading of so many papers. _I'll never be a teacher. _Snape collected the parchments back from her and looked through them quickly, before commenting, "Why, Miss Granger, it seems you are stricter than me." He showed her his pile of parchments, which were as terribly done as hers, but they were mostly Cs. She flushed.

"Well, Miss Granger, it seems that we are almost done here, but before I dismiss you, I would like to return this to you as I'm sure you would need this for your upcoming investigations." Snape withdrew the prophet that he had confiscated earlier and handed it over to Hermione. Hermione reached out, and in one swift motion, Snape lifted up the sleeve of her robes and exposed the tattoo that rested on her skin. She recoiled and took the paper with trembling hands.

"Now, I'm sure you're wondering why I'm giving this back to you, and I shall not withhold my intentions from you. Basically, I have already proven my theory to be correct that you are involved in this damned prophecy, and you would need this article to analyse, though I'm sure the reason why you were exactly 1 min and 5 seconds late was because you have been thinking about this. Now, on to the reason why I took it from you in the first place was because you were catching a lot of curious glances as to why you weren't listening to class, and before students would question why the git-of-a-professor, don't interrupt Miss Granger, yes I know I'm being called that, was not dealing with you, I stepped in and acted like the prat I was." Snape finished and calmly stood up as if nothing had happened, strode over to the door and opened it for her, gesturing for her to get out.

Hermione was stood up slowly, her mouth still opening and closing like a fish out of water, and her brain trying desperately to catch up with the events that just occurred. _Had Snape been nice to me? The world must be going crazy, or I'm dreaming. _To make sure she wasn't, she pinched herself and winced in pain. _Nope, still here. This is not a dream. _Her little action was not missed by Snape, who rolled his eyes at her stupidity and motioned for her to get out. Realising she was keeping the professor, she immediately got out of the room, muttering her thanks.

"Now, now, Miss Granger, no need to stutter, and close your mouth, you must be trying to catch flies. Oh, and there will be no need to tell anyone about my act of kindness, since I happen to like my reputation of being the most feared and evil professor in this school compound, thank you very much. But, ah, I happen to know that Mr Potter and Mr Weasley would question you, so I suppose you can tell them. Oh, and Miss Granger, don't judge Mr Malfoy so quickly. God knows that boy is a coward, but he means well, and before you ask, yes, I know what happened before my class, you're not the only person who is a know-it-all you know?" Snape actually managed to give a rare chuckle to Hermione, who was standing outside of the dungeons with a shocked look on her face. Hermione bade goodnight to her professor again and turned to walk back to her Head dormitories, when his voice stopped her again.

"Miss Granger?"

"Yes, professor?"

"Good luck," and with that, the Potions Master gave a sharp nod to her and shut the door behind him, leaving Hermione to stand in the deserted corridor, confused. She slowly walked back to her dormitory, pondering about the strange events that had happened today. She hadn't known that Professor Snape was so observant, and she wondered what it meant when the professor had defended Malfoy. _How can that boy mean well? It's just a load of bull, Hermione, don't listen to him. _But Hermione felt compelled to forgive Malfoy. The stubborn side of her refused, however, but eventually they came to a consensus: Hermione would let Malfoy have a chance to explain himself, if he even explains himself, and she'll see whether he was worthy of forgiveness after that. The professor had also mentioned the prophecy during detention, and she knew that he had an inkling that the murder was connected to the prophecy. Hermione hoped that in time to come when the events of the prophecy start, she would be able to consult this man when she faced difficulties.

Sometimes Hermione just felt as if she wasn't cut out to be this. This whole saving the world thing, it was something she had been doing since she was 11. The philosopher's stone, the chamber of secrets where she had been petrified, the prisoner of Azkaban, the goblet of fire, being in the order of the phoenix, discovering that Snape was the half-blood prince who had invented many shortcuts to the making of potions, and finally trying to destroy the many horcruxes that Voldemort had created. This was all work for an adult, not for a girl like her. This was like Harry Potter's job. But she had always been helping him, had she not. Ever since she had known she was a witch, her life had become thrown into a world of chaos and destruction, and everything had turned from the normal to the weird. She thought after the war she would have a chance at normalcy. _But_ _Merlin,_ Hermione thought, _these days are becoming weirder and weirder. The next thing I know, I might wake up and see Malfoy dressed in a tutu and Snape dancing ballet during breakfast. _Chuckling to herself, Hermione went up to her room and collapsed onto the bed. She was too exhausted to shower. She would do that in the morning before breakfast.


	11. Tales of the Malfoys

**Author's Note:**

**Thanks to all my reviewers! I now have an average of 3 reviewers per chapter, which is not very impressive, but it's a start! Considering I'm still on my 10****th**** chapter and this is my first ever story.**

**Shout-outs go to my reviewers from the last chapter, 2dEVIL iN dISGUISE2, HermoneMalfoy2010, and Imaginexdragons. Thank you so much! Your reviews were quite helpful in the sense that you gave me an idea of how my story would seem like to a reader More story alerts and favourite author/story have been coming So thank you so much!**

**Apologies again for the super duper late update. Wow it's been nearly a month! The exam period is here for me and I have a load of things to do): Anyway, this newest chapter is going to be an insight to how Draco changed, and the character of Narcissa Malfoy is unveiled as well. And the action is going to get started soon! Hope you guys enjoy!**

**This whole chapter is written in Draco's POV. I felt like I needed to develop his character a little bit more, and since some of you say he's a little OOC, I am going to provide a reason for why he has changed over the summer. Yup!**

**Lastly, please excuse my Italian. I don't know Italian, but it is said to be the language of love, so I roughly translated it with google translate. Don't kill me thanks!**

**Once again, Harry Potter and the characters belong to J.K Rowling and her amazing imagination. Only the plot and the pairings of characters belong to me Feedback is encouraged once again Pls R&R!**

Tales of the Malfoys:

**Draco's POV:**

Draco lifted his head slightly from the hard surface and blinked blearily at his surroundings. His head was throbbing and he desperately needed a hangover potion. He stood up, stumbling slightly, and made his way over to his trunk. "Where the fuck is that stupid vial of potion ugh my fucking head is killing me!" Furiously rummaging through it, he finally managed to seek out a vial of potion that he had secretly stashed within a stack of robes. He uncorked it and shakily poured the liquid down his throat in one gulp, shuddering slightly at the taste but then marveling at the effects of it. The pain in his head dulled to just a slight ache, nothing he couldn't take, and he could walk straight now. Draco did this whenever he felt extremely angry or depressed, which was really often before the War had ended. Hence, he was used to this minor amount of pain from hangovers. Checking to make sure that he looked decent in the mirror and nothing like how he used to during his "task"; hollow, gaunt, pale and with thick rings underneath his eyes from lack of sleep and worry, he took a quick cold shower to refresh himself and dressed.

Stepping back out to his own room, he hesitated and then strode over to the opposite door at the other end of the bathroom and pressed his ear to the door. Nope. No sound at all. It was either she was still asleep, or she had already gotten up early to the Great Hall, or the worst, she never came back for the night and all and instead spent the night in the Gryffindor dormitories. Draco quickly shook off the notion of her not coming back to the Heads dormitories. She was too much of a goody-two-shoes to stay over in another room. He walked back into the common room and glanced at the clock, nope, too late for Hermione to be still in, so the first option is out. Draco purposefully walked over to the other door and yanked it open, discovering the bedroom to be in a clean state. At once, Draco was filled with anger at the thought of Hermione not coming back for the night. _Fuck, have I really screwed up that badly? But it's not my fault this time. She chose to stay over at Weaslette's room, or worse, in Scarhead and the Weasel's room. Fan-fucking-tastic. And here I was thinking I would go to apologise to her. She's such a hypocrite. One moment she's bawling her eyes out at the Weasel's betrayal and the next she's staying over in their room just because I defended myself. Mudbloods. _

Draco stalked out of the room, determined to remain cold to Granger. He thought he could really be friends with Granger, but it seemed like she preferred her friends, those who turned their backs on her, to the boy who had helped her when she was upset. _Ungrateful little twit. _Draco didn't even stop to consider the fact that maybe it was just a huge misunderstanding. He was sure that this was her little way of payback. _Fine, then, you want this year of headship to be unpleasant? Bring it on. _Draco huffed and immediately put on his façade of indifference. If Granger wanted him to be like this, he would. He was going to become the old Draco Malfoy. The one that trust no one, the one that hates all who are not pureblooded, and the one that annoyed the hell of the Golden Trio. He opened the doors of the Great Hall with a bang and smirked when many turned in his direction. He walked in with his head held high with that Malfoy trademark smirk and swaggered over to the Slytherin table. On the way, he passed by Granger's seat and saw her roll her eyes.

"Problem, mudblood?"

There was a shocked gasp that resounded throughout the hall. Granger looked appalled for a second and then smacked him straight across the face.

"Done now Granger?"

Granger smiled sadistically at him.

"No ferret. Let's see, 200 points from Slytherin for insulting the Head Girl. Another 100 for using the word. Detention with Filch for the rest of the month to investigate the happenings in the Forbidden Forest…"

"And a pleasant meeting with myself too, I daresay, Mr Malfoy, 9pm tonight," his godfather's voice drifted from behind him.

Draco was shocked. _My godfather, of all people, sticking up for Granger? _Plastering a look of nonchalance, he merely shrugged his shoulders and then turned swiftly on his heel, heading over to the Slytherin table amidst a sea of hanging jaws. He calmly sat beside Blaise, and both Pansy and Blaise looked at him worriedly. Inside, Draco was seething. How could his godfather, stick up for the mudblood? It was unusual, and definitely wrong. Something must have addled the man's brain. He scooped up a generous portion of scrambled eggs and roughly stabbed at them, finishing his breakfast in a jiffy. He roughly shoved his plate away after he was done and stood up swiftly, leaving the hall quickly with his friends following him closely.

"What are you looking at," Draco sneered at a couple of 1st years who had just entered the hall. No doubt they were frightened of him, him being the Death Eater gone good. He was tempted to roll up his sleeves and intimidate them with his fading Dark Mark, but decided better against it since there was a high likelihood that the other sleeve might also get hitched up and then the ignorant brats would see his other tattoo.

He continued on his way, and only stopped when he felt someone place a hand on his back. He whipped around sharply, but relaxed when he realised that it was only Blaise. Blaise's eyes displayed something like disbelief and an emotion that was close to disappointment. Pansy looked a little frightened and was making it a point to stand behind Blaise. Draco was confused. What had he done to make them so afraid? He was still the same old Draco.

Blaise cleared everything up with just 5 simple words. 5 words that would change Draco, and 5 words that would shock him back into the person that he had promised to be.

"You've become like your father," he stated simply, and walked away, guiding a cowering Pansy around the shoulders.

Just like that, Draco understood. He felt extremely abashed at his behaviour, and frustrated at himself for being his father's son. He watched his two friends walk away from him, one of them completely frightened that he would become like the heartless cruel creature that Lucius was.

"Shit."

Draco wanted nothing more than to chase his friends down and promise that he would never do anything like that, but the truth was that he couldn't trust himself anymore. He had made that promise to his mother and to his friends before school, that he would never say the "m" word again, but he had broken it. _Damn. Am I really like my father after all, incapable of change, and cannot feel for anything or anyone? _Draco had told himself time and again before coming back to Hogwarts that he would be on his best behaviour and try to tolerate Granger. He had, actually, and was on his way to becoming friends with Granger, but he just had to fuck up and now he had gone to insult her, so now they were back to square one. Draco hated himself whenever he displayed his father's traits. Sometimes it just doesn't hit him how much he acts like his father until his friends turn away from him or when he sees that he has made someone upset. Take it with Granger for example, Draco had hurt her unknowingly because he acted without thinking, as he had always had done, and only when he realised that she was crying did he notice what had spouted out from his mouth.

Draco distinctly remembered the conversation he had had with his mum right after he had realised how evil his father was. It had been in the parlor, a few days after the Golden Trio had managed to escape from the manor with the help of Dobby. He had always liked that elf, as Dobby had been the one who had taken care of him after he had been badly hurt by his father. Lucius had been away on a mission for the Dark Lord, there was no doubt that he had gone off to try to get back into the Dark Lord's good graces. No doubt he had just gone to commit sinful acts at a muggle village. They had not been punished for letting the Golden Trio away, but had to live with the memory of the Dark Lord killing everyone who had not been able to scuttle away fast enough. Lucius had hurriedly ushered them into a room above the grand room where the massacre was taking place.

Draco remembered the conversation clear and well. It had been a sunny day, and the sunlight was filtering through the windows of the manor, and the house had looked as grand as ever. Nothing seemed to be amiss, but upon a closer look at it's interior, one could tell that there had been mass destruction that had taken place. The bodies had already been taken away by some of the loyal supporters of the Dark Lord and dumped somewhere where they were sure the Aurors would find. The Dark Lord had ordered all of his trusted supporters away to track down the whereabouts of the Golden Trio, and the manor was quiet for now. There were still occasional whimpers coming from the door leading down to the dungeons, no doubt from the prisoners, awaiting a new day of torture and pain.

_Flashback: (1 year, 3 months, 8 days ago…)_

"_Pop!" _

_Tinky the house elf apparated into Draco's bedroom, startling the Draco who had been deep in slumber. _

"_Tinky is sorry, Master, but Madam would like Master at the parlor after he has dressed," Tinky stood trembling at the bedside, obviously frightened at having woken up his master. _

_Draco felt a twinge of pity for the poor creature. His father treated them like vermin, beating them without reason and when they made the simplest of mistakes, he tortured them. Draco nodded in thanks and smiled at Tinky, before waving him off. Tinky immediately bowed and snapped his fingers, apparating away in an instant. The young boy washed up in his luxurious bathroom before dressing himself comfortably and walking over to the parlor. _

_His mother sat on the white chair facing the garden, her fingers gently holding the handle of the teacup and slowly sipping from it. Draco's eyes softened. His mother was as aristocratic and elegant as ever, yet the years had been hard on her, and no matter how young she tried to look, Narcissa Malfoy was starting to grow wrinkles. His mother was still the same as always, still gentle and in her eyes were warmth and love, nothing like what he saw in his father's. _

"_Mother."_

_Startled, Narcissa gave a little startle and spilled a bit of her tea onto her dress. Mumbling to herself, she cast a quick scourgrify and turned around to greet her son. Draco saw that there were tears in her eyes, and her eyebags were more pronounced somehow. Waving her hand slightly, she gestured to Draco to sit, and then continued to stare across the horizon, as if her son was not sitting merely a few inches away from her and staring at her strangely. _

"_Mother, you called."_

_Narcissa Malfoy merely tilted her head as a sign of recognition that she had heard, then continued her aimless staring._

"_Mother, are you quite alright?"_

_Draco's mother opened her mouth to speak, but her eyes never left the same spot she had been staring at. Draco followed her gaze, and was surprised to see that she was looking at a family of birds that were sitting in the nest. _

"_My dragon, do you see that group of birds over there? Do you know what they are doing?"_

_Draco observed for a while, but shook his head after a bit. _

"_The parents are teaching the child how to fly," Narcissa replied gently. _

_The more Draco observed, the more confused he got. The adult birds were pushing the little bird off the nest, and each time, the bird would drop a few feet down while furiously flapping it's wings, and then while it was just about to fall to it's death, the parents would swoop down and pick it up again. Turning around, he opened his mouth to ask his mother what she was making him do, watching the parents frighten their child. Narcissa shook her head slightly and gestured towards the family again. Draco looked back, and after the little bird fell two more times, Draco was about to give up and demand an explanation from his mother. Then something miraculous happened. The little bird started flapping it's wings on it's third fall, but instead of plummeting straight to the ground, the little bird managed to fly for a few metres before dropping again. Intrigued, Draco watched closely, and after 15 minutes, the little bird had perfected the skill of flying. It had also modified it's flying pattern from the one that had originally been taught to him. Now it could dip and soar like his parents could, and the threesome flew happily away. _

_He was so engrossed with watching the little bird that he didn't noticed his mother studying him closely. _

"_See, Draco, the parents have taught that little bird what he needed to know to survive, albeit through fear. But in time, that little bird had developed it's own way of thinking and changed the style in which it flew, which made it have a mind of it's own. Draco, I want you to know, that not everything is cast in stone, and I want you to know that I want the best for you. You and I both know what happened yesterday, and I'm sure you're not completely ignorant of what kinds of activities go on down in the dungeons. It is pleasure to them, but it is sick, and I hope you know not to follow through these kinds of atrocities."_

"_But mother," Draco protested, "they are mudbloods and blood traitors, they are beneath us, they deserve that! Their blood is not pure, and they are tainting our world!"_

_Narcissa's jaw set in a hard line, and she shook her head disappointingly at her son. _

"_Come with me, Draco, I want to show you something. And remember what I said."_

_She swept gracefully to her feet, leaving the teacups and the snacks on the table. Draco was forced to follow her._

"_Mother, where are we-"_

_He was cut off when they stopped in front of a stone door. Painful moans and groans were coming from that door, and Draco knew where they were headed. The dungeon. The dungeon where the Dark Lord kept blood traitors and mudbloods for their own sick pleasure. The dungeon where those on the Light side were kept and tortured daily for information. The dungeon where killing took place, and other unspeakable kinds of crime. Draco was never allowed in, it was only when he was to fetch the boy-who-lived and the Weasel did he enter the dungeon and fetch them from the first cell. Draco had never ventured past that. He had not been allowed to, nor had his curiousity ever gotten the better of him. _

"_Mother, why-"_

"_Come."_

_Narcissa slid the door open and the both of them descended down the stone steps. The place was dimly lit, and there was only an occasional torch here and there to light the way. Almost every cell contained an inmate that was bleeding, and hunched in the corner. Some of them flinched away immediately when they passed, while the stronger ones merely shrunk away when they realised that no help had come for them. The hope had immediately died. Narcissa led him past many cells, where there were men and women begging to be killed and those that had already been killed. Everywhere, there was the foul stench of blood and grime, and the dungeons were eerily quiet today. On regular days, there would be the sound of whip against flesh, but no today. _

_Today was mourning day. Today was also the rejoicing day. They mourned for the dead, the injured, each other. They rejoiced for no harm would befall them today, at least not now, and they might live to see another day. Narcissa led him down the winding stone floor, and they came to a halt a few cells away from the end. Draco peered inside and saw the prone form of a young girl lying on the floor in the corner furthest away from the cell door. Narcissa undid the charms on the door and the both of them stepped inside, shutting the door behind them. The girl startled awake from the clanging of the door, and she instinctively cowered away from them both, burying her face into her hands and begging them not to hurt her. _

_Draco felt a immense surge of pity for the girl. Her clothes were torn, and the lower areas of her dress were bloodied. Draco knew what had happened here. There were spots of blood on the floor and through her torn dress, he could see that there were red marks everywhere. This girl had obviously been violated. _

"_Please…please…I just want to go home. Please don't hurt me anymore, I promise I won't tell the police. Just..please," the girl whispered brokenly, throwing herself onto the floor and sobbing. _

_It dawned on Draco that this was a muggle girl, and she had been taken merely for the Death Eater's sexual pleasures. Draco felt sick, sick to the core that they had taken advantage of her. No one deserved to go through something like that, and Draco knew that in the Malfoy rule book, there was a certain paragraph and specific segment that indicated that a Malfoy would never hurt a woman knowingly or unknowingly. This was sinful. A shame. _

_Narcissa saw the conflicting emotions in her son's eyes, and the rage that came with it. Gently, she lay a hand down on her son's shoulders and steered him around to face her. _

"_Look." _

_Narcissa drew out a thin blade from her side and sliced shallowly into the tip of her index finger, and let the blood drip down onto the cool dungeon floor. It landed right beside the specks of blood that had been the muggle's. Draco was shocked. It was the same, it was exactly the same. Both were red, and both had the exact same shade to it. There was no mud in the muggle's blood, no brown-ish tinge. Then why was it that they were inferior? _

_Then Draco understood. There was NO difference. They were exactly the same. Nobody was superior to anybody. They were all humans and were equal. So why were they treated to be inferior? All because they were not born of pure wizard heritage? This was all nonsense, ridiculous beliefs that were not true. All that Draco had been taught by Lucius Malfoy was a lie. Draco was filled with shame, looking down at the girl who was crying her heart out on the floor. Then Draco knew what he had to do, no matter the consequences. He would help the girl, then when questioned, he would do the thing he could do best. __**Lie.**_

_Draco gently took her hands away from her face, and wiped the tears away from her cheeks. She flinched away slightly, but when Draco enveloped her into a hug, she returned it and fiercely cried into his shoulder. Shifting her into a comfortable position, Draco stood up and carried her up and out of the dungeon, and then entered his room and laid her down onto his bed. _

_Draco called out, "Tipsy!"_

_The elf magically appeared in front of him, and the female elf gasped at the sight of the disheveled girl on the bed. _

"_Tipsy, would you be so kind to help this young lady here wash up and then get dressed, and then send her back to her parents? Could you do that for me, Tipsy, please?" _

_The small elf furiously nodded her head. _

"_Yes, Tipsy can do that for master. Come on…"_

_Tipsy had the girl properly dressed and returned home, and reported back to Draco afterwards. Narcissa was brimming with pride, and gave her son a rare hug. _

"_Thank you, my dragon, for waking up and not being blinded. Always remember that I love you, and you are my pride and my joy." _

_Narcissa had hugged him for a long time after that, crying softly into his shoulder. Draco knew then, that the strong front his mother had always put up, the times when she would come in after one of Lucius' favourite "training" sessions, was because she loved him and did not want to see him hurt. That was the day Draco realised that there was at least one person whom he knew that was capable of love, and that he was capable of being loved. That was the day he resolved to never be like his father, to lead his own life and to think for himself. That was the day Draco Malfoy became a man. _

_End flashback_

And now, Draco was utterly disappointed in himself for returning to the old him. The one that had been controlled by his father and could not think for himself, the boy who made all the wrong decisions and made all the wrong friends. He has failed himself, but most importantly, he failed his mother. But this time, Draco was not going to be the coward he was and let things stay the way there are just because it might wound his pride to apologise. No, this time he would make it clear that Draco Malfoy was a changed man, he would admit his mistake to Granger in front of the whole school tomorrow and nothing was going to stop him from doing that. He would go talk to Severus tonight and assure him that this would not happen again. Because this time, Draco was determined to not let the same thing occur again.

He was sure that he had hurt Hermione quite badly, so he was going to have to think of a way to salvage their friendship. He hoped it would not be too late. Maybe a simple gift? Or maybe even just a little note? Ah, he got it, just a simple white rose signifying purity and a yellow one signifying friendship and the promise of a new beginning, sent by a dove and an apology written neatly on a piece of parchment. _Yup, that should do nicely._

Sitting down in front of his mahogany desk, Draco took out a roll of parchment and dipped his quill into the pot of fresh black ink and began to write. After several corrections to the parchment, Draco was pleased to see that the apology was completed. He neatly tied it up with a ribbon and placed it at the corner of the table. He would sneak into the forbidden forest later at night after the talk with his godfather and source for the flowers. Alternatively, maybe he could try his luck at the greenhouses, and pray that he doesn't wake some of the screaming plants up by accident or trip over one of the mandrakes and cause it to scream. _Oh well. _Tucking his quill and roll of unused parchment back into his bag, Draco stood up and headed for his first class of the day, Divination. He walked up the winding staircase to the Divination classroom and parted the purple curtains at the entrance and stepped through. Everyone looked up at him when he entered, and he hurriedly grabbed the only empty seat in the class, which was obviously beside Blaise and Pansy. Both of them cringed slightly, but when Draco flashed them a smile and mouthed "I'm sorry" to them, they both brightened up considerably, knowing that he was back to normal.

Professor Trelawney appeared in a puff of smoke, choking after inhaling some of it. Draco rolled his eyes inwardly, _that woman did love theatrics, even though she wasn't good at it. _Stepping out of the smoke and waving her cape slightly, she pushed her glasses further up the bridge of her nose.

"Okay class, today we are going to continue our lesson on tea-leaf reading. Now remember, tea-leaf reading is a very abstract form of art, which requires a great deal of skill and concentration and only a few of the most skilled individuals are able to accurately predict the future of himself or herself just by analyzing the leaves here. It is an art…"

Draco scoffed. _Art? _Now he was starting to see why Granger had dropped this class. The teacher was a complete lunatic.

"which obviously, some people are unable to appreciate," Trelawney glared pointedly at him.

Draco shrugged.

"I really don't see the point of this, _Professor, _none of this fortune-telling has ever been proven to be accurate, has it?"

Trelawney looked pointedly at him, and in particular, his left forearm. Draco shifted uncomfortably. _Did she know that he had a tattoo there? After all, she had been the one to issue the prophecy. But surely that's impossible. She didn't even remember what she had said. _Draco had heard of the previous prophecy that she had issued. It had been one of Lucius' missions. To retrieve the prophecy that had been stored in a crystal ball deep within the Department of Mysteries. That one had been a failure. Draco had watched Lucius get tortured because of his failure to deliver the crystal ball safely back to the Dark Lord. It had been shattered, and it had displeasured the Dark Lord to a great deal, unable to get a clue as to how he could defeat the Potter boy.

_Well, _Draco mentally corrected himself, _her previous prophecy had been accurate. But it's just by chance, _he assured himself.

"Well, don't just sit there and stare at me, start analyzing your tea leaves. I'll come to you all individually to hear about your predictions and correct them if necessary, starting from Mr Zabini's table, since there are some, who obviously don't trust the power and truth that comes with tea-leaf reading," Trelawney sniffled.

Draco let out a sarcastic chuckle. _Power? Truth? Ha, what a load of bull! _He saw the Brown girl and her friend Patil enthusiastically straighten up and really started squinting and scribbling down on their piece of given parchment. Those two girls were seriously so serious about Divination that it was quite unbearable. The both of them were Trelawney's favourites, since in her opinion, they were making logical and accurate observations. It was quite sickening really, watching them suck up to the batty-eyed professor. He reluctantly slid his own tea-leaf bowl over to him and then when Trelawney stared at him, he mockingly raised his eyebrows, placed a finger underneath his chin and pretended to nod, seemingly deep in thought. Both Pansy and Blaise seemed slightly relaxed, this was Draco's normal behaviour in Divination. If he had done this in Potions, they would think that he was seriously off his rocker.

Professor Trelawney pretended to ignore what Draco was doing and made her way over to their table. Draco could almost predict what she was going to say. Usually it was always something morbid and disastrous, for example falling off the stairs and breaking a leg, or getting knocked off the broom at Quidditch practice and then getting a severe concussion in the head. As usual, she gasped when she saw his tea-leaf. Nothing new, nothing new.

"Why Mr Malfoy, you must be most careful. It appears that the leaves have foretold your future and you are in for a very unlucky year. The alignment of the veins on the leaf criss-crossing each other indicate a cross in path with you and your greatest fear. There is also a dark presence emanating from the leaves, I fear you might be in for a tough time, Mr Malfoy," Trelawney looked horrified, her eyes seemed to be two times larger than normal.

Now Draco seemed to be slightly freaked out. Her eyes seemed slightly glazed over, like she was staring into the distance. Draco looked around the class and saw that all the students were watching their exchange curiously, as if they were curious as to what the life of an ex-death eater would be like this year. Even Brown and Patil had stopped burning holes with their eyes on the tea leaves and were watching their professor closely, and concernedly. Tentatively, Draco reached out and waved his hand in front of the Professor's eyes. Nope, no chance. The professor didn't even blink, nor did her eyeballs follow the motion of his hands. Then her hands seemed to twitch a little, and Draco was really a little unnerved now.

Suddenly, the Professor's eyes snapped over and fixed them onto Draco's gaze, penetrating through his very soul. Draco shrunk back, frightened. His heart was pounding, and he was desperately trying not to show the fear on his face. Quick as a flash, Trelawney's hands shot forward and gripped him tightly on the shoulders. Draco let out a startled yelp as he was locked in a vice-like grip. No one was laughing now. He was literally trembling like a leaf, and the Saint Potter, who was obviously trying to save the day again, came over and asked, "Professor?"

Professor Trelawney didn't move one muscle. She just continued to stare at Draco intently, and then words started to pour into Draco's mind. A woman's voice was saying them, and Draco was 100% sure that it was not Trelawney. Someone was speaking through her, someone who was intent on getting her message across to him secretly. _Well, not the most discreet way you can do it, in front of class of students who are staring at me like I'm demented. _The words were haunting, and they only lingered in his mind for a while. They came in wisps, floating and then disappeared quickly after that. Draco closed his eyes for a while, and an image of a blonde haired lady came into mind. She was beautiful, and looked somewhat like his mother, but also did not at the same time. She was young, and age had not caught up with her. Yet there was a dangerous look about her. She spoke softly, almost in a whisper, but Draco knew her words were not to be taken lightly upon. This was a warning.

_The noble property of M shall shatter_

_From it rise the ashes of trust and doubt_

_Trust, forgive and forget, the righteous thing to do_

_Doubt, hurt and kill, the easier thing to do_

_An ancient blood ritual shall be awakened_

_A ritual only known to 3_

_Search hard you shalt find the meaning_

_Listen hard and carefully_

_Dal sangue del traditore e del suo amore_

_Dal l'osso del suo ammiratore _

_Preparare una pozione cosi potenti a unirsi a noi insieme inamorato_

_Per legarci insieme e sentire l'altro il dolore e la sofferenza_

_Per essere sempre conforme a ciascuno degli altri cuori_

_A spell cast at midnight,_

_Witnessed by family alike_

_To join both spirit and soul together_

_For all eternity_

The spell ended and Trelawney jerked slightly.

"What's going on?" She asked the class when they all stared at her.

The students mumbled and then went back to what they were doing. She seemed slightly dazed as she walked back to her chair and sat down heavily on it and then after a while got up to examine the predictions of Brown and Patil, which were, as usual, accurate and excellent.

Draco had been scribbling on the parchment when the strange lady had been talking. He had written down every single word that he had been told. Rolling it up hastily, he put it into his bag amid the strange stares given to him by his friends. Draco shook his head slightly. This was just the first lesson. It seemed like it was going to be an extremely long day.


	12. Tales of Inheritance

**Author's Note:**

**A big shoutout goes to Parvati48 who gave me constant feedback, and of course my dear friend Nothing other than that though, so I'm getting quite disappointed but I'll keep writing for those who are still reading this, but the updates won't be coming so frequently since there doesn't seem to be many readers…I know there are people reading this though, because I have story alerts and favourite story alerts coming through my mail. I really wish you guys would drop me a review though, just a simple comment or a remark would be fantastic! I don't need long feedback, maybe just a few words would be great I love to know how my readers are finding this story. I'll try to update regularly now, since I have disappointed my readers in the past by not doing so in a very long while. **

**So yep, short recap: Draco gets issued another prophecy by Professor Trelawney during Divination. Hopefully, in this chapter, you'll see Draco's character morph a little. Long Snape and Draco conversation coming up too so look forward to that, even though it is a pain to write and to try to think from Snape's POV. More puzzles and pieces to the prophecy coming in too. The beginning of Dramione will begin soon:D Don't worry, other characters will be getting developed in future chapters. I'm just mainly focusing on the dramione bit now because well, they're the main characters of the story. **

**Once again, the characters are based on J.K Rowling and everything belongs to her apart from the plot of this story. **

**All you potterheads please like this page on facebook that me and my friend created. Dedicated to Harry Potter:D It's called "When is it relevant to make a HP reference?" "Always." Thanks guys **

**Disclaimer: Candice Canole is a character that is not in the Harry Potter series that J.K Rowling wrote. She is a Slytherin 6****th**** year that I made up, and she will not be a huge character in the story, but not one of the minor ones either. **

**Enjoy **

**Tales of Inheritance**

Snape's POV:

It is said that memories plague you forever, regardless of the emotion, the setting, or the duration of the memory. It is also known that when you grow older, you tend to forget things that have just happened, but keep those that have occurred a long time ago close to you. The reason is simple. The human mind works simply, it sieves out the unhappy ones, and allows you to keep those that are happy. The fact of life is that most happy memories are experienced during the childhood years. The mind works this way. _Mostly. _There are also times when the mind doesn't delete away the most painful memories, and instead the person is plagued with the bad memory for the rest of their lives. Everything in the memory is as crystal clear as it had been when it happened, everything preserved perfectly to the last detail. That's what hurts the most. Experiencing the memory again as if you were just there, but at the same time powerless to do anything to change it.

There are also words, specific phrases that haunt you for life. There are certain snippets of memories that come with it, and some things that you can never forget till the day you die. There are secrets whispered to you from the faintest of voices, secrets that waft into your ear incidentally from the slightest of breezes. There are those that are mere pieces of gossip that you could care less about, but there are also those that matter and concern yourself, or the people dear to you. Sometimes in life, we face certain dilemmas, big dilemmas.

Severus was currently in the middle of one big dilemma. Not too long ago, Narcissa had come to him, and begged for him to protect Draco. Severus would say that he had done a pretty good job of it so far. After all, his god-son had survived the war without so much of a scratch on his back. But now, Severus wasn't sure whether he should break one promise that he had made to Narcissa, which would not sign his death warrant, or not tell Draco, which would result in himself, potions master of Hogwarts, to be killed by breaking an Unbreakable Vow. He knew that he must work fast, however, because Draco would be turning 17 in a matter of days, and he would receive his Inheritance. To be very honest, Severus was extremely glad that his god-son had been like the git he was brought up to be this morning and acted rashly towards Miss Granger. If he hadn't done so, Severus would not have had an excuse to call him for a meeting.

Severus had indeed already made him his mind a few days back. He was going to tell Draco about his Inheritance, before he gets the biggest shock of his life and not know what to do when the clock strikes midnight in just a few days. Severus was going to tell Draco, in order to protect him. He would face the consequences of letting the secret out without Narcissa's permission. If he were to die by Narcissa's wand, then so be it. His god-son deserved to know. Without telling him, his favourite student will go through the pain thinking he was dying, and not have anyone he can confide in. _No, _Severus thought, _if I'm going to protect Draco, then I'm going to do what I have done in the past, I'm going to be a bloody Gryffindor and gather up the courage to tell him. _Ugh. Severus didn't know how he was going to put this into words. He would have to explain the most fundamental needs and history of Draco's kind. Glancing at the clock, he saw that Draco would most likely come in exactly 15 minutes later.

_This is bad, this is very bad. He's going to kill me for not telling me earlier. His mother is going to kill me for telling him. _Severus stumbled over to his bookshelf and fumbled through the titlese, finally taking a thick book out of its place. _**The mystical beings amongst us: A guide to Veelas. **_Severus slumped into his armchair and flipped through the book that had come to be in his possession after Cissa had explained Draco's birthright to him. It had come as a big shock to Severus, since Lucius himself was not a Veela. This much Severus was sure of. There was no way he could survive that long without seeing Cissa in Azkaban. The book of course had its inaccuracies, some that Severus would be sure to point out to Draco after he had explained the basic history of how Draco had come to be a Veela.

_Tick. Tick. Tick. _The clock was mocking him, and with every single tick, Severus shuddered. This was even worse than explaining the birds and the bees to a curious child. This was very, very bad. Severus was dreading explaining the part about the Veela's mate and he was already breaking out in cold sweat. The Slytherin in him wanted to back out very badly, but when the first knock on the door sounded, he knew there was no running away from this. He would have to play the role of a caring and concerned grandfather. For Salazar Slytherin's sake, he hoped nothing would go wrong.

"Come in," Severus choked out.

The door cautiously opened, and his god-son stepped in, looking as pointy and calm as ever. However, Severus, always being the observant bat he was, detected something off about Draco immediately. The way Draco walked was a dead give-away. Instead of holding his chin up and wearing the Malfoy smirk on his face, his god-son shuffled his feet towards him, and promptly plonked himself down onto the chair. _Okay, maybe I was mistaken, maybe he still is the same old Draco, sitting down without greeting me, or asking permission whatsoever. But something is different…His eyes betray him. There is no glint of mischief in his eyes, only dread. _

"Look at me, boy."

Severus tilted Draco's chin up, and gazed into his god-son's silver orbs. Draco looked away almost immediately, and refused to meet his godfather's stare. Severus stepped back and sighed, wringing his hands and sinking down into his chair again.

_Oh boy, this was going to be difficult. _

Draco's POV:

Draco had trudged down to his godfather's office after his last class of the day. During dinner, he had been unnaturally quiet, only taking small helpings of his favourite food and taking only a few bites out of his servings. Pansy and Blaise had tried to elicit some kind of response from him, but he remained stoic. Draco was afraid of what his godfather might tell him tonight after Draco himself popped the question. He wasn't a stupid boy, and he knew that in just a few days, to be precise 4 days, he would come into his Inheritance. His mother had refused to tell him anything about it, when he had asked her over the summer. Everytime the conversations steered close to this topic, she would immediately change the subject and start talking about the weather. _Suspicious. I'm most definitely asking Uncle Sev about this tonight. _

He knew he had an apology to deliver to his godfather. It had been somewhat out of line for him to insult the Head Girl in such a manner, and it was in line with everything Lucius had taught him to believe in, which essentially meant that it was immoral. Draco had no idea up to now how to formulate a decent apology to his godfather, after all, this didn't seem like something that he would stick his nose into anyway. _Huh. Who knows what's going on his brain. _Draco was in a dilemma whether or not he should tell his godfather about what had transpired during Divination. The only people he could trust now were his best mates, his mother and his uncle. Perhaps his uncle would be able to find some answer to this ridiculous prophecies being issued. Draco was starting to think that he should take a leaf out of Granger's book and just drop Divination all together since it was definitely his least favourite subject and making guesses was never his forte.

To be very honest, this prophecy had him on the edge even more than the first. This time, it seemed as if the prophecy could only be heard by a select few. Most of the class had seemed to be in a trance and only snapped out of it when Trelawney had asked them to return to their work. Blaise and Pansy had obviously heard it, since the both of them had been extremely shocked, to say the least, after the class. Saint Potter seemed to be aware as well. That boy had given him a very concerned look after class and Draco had caught him staring at his left forearm more than once for the remaining time of the class, only to look away hurriedly when he was caught. Perhaps the boy-who-could-never-die was thrown into another prophecy again. _Wow, _Draco chuckled darkly to himself, _that boy sure is a magnet for prophecies. _

After classes had ended, Draco had practically dragged his friends to the Heads common room and into his room. Then, he had proceeded to chuck the parchment with the Italian part of the prophecy at Blaise, and demanded him to translate it. Blaise, always the good-natured Italian boy, had agreed and scanned through it, his eyes almost bursting out of its sockets after he was done reading through the jumble of words that Draco had scribbled on the paper. Some of them were hard to understand, since Draco did not know how to spell the words, he only wrote down what he thought was the spelling of the words.

Blaise's POV:

Blaise couldn't believe what had befallen his friend. If it was just another prophecy hinting at what was to come, then maybe it wouldn't have been so bad. _Oh boy, Draco's in a pickle, he just doesn't understand it yet. _Blaise felt a surge of pity for his friend. The boy had been brought up to be confused and brainwashed by his father's teachings, and it seemed like the Malfoy family drama wasn't about to end just yet. _Wow, nothing dull happens in the family, huh. Draco's going to blow his top when he finds out that he needs to be bonded to someone. He hates arranged marriages, but this one says love, so hopefully Draco truthfully loves this lady he's going to have to stick with for the rest of his life. _

"Well," his friend snapped at him.

"Basically, the rough translation is like a recipe for a binding potion. It roughly translates to this;

From the blood of the traitor and his love  
>From the bone of his admirers<br>Prepare a potion so powerful to join us enamored with  
>To tie us together and hear each other pain and suffering<br>To be consistent with each other hearts"

"Uh-huh, and just WHAT THE BLOODY FUCK IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN? AM I SUPPOSED TO BE BOUND TO A FUCKING WOMAN FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE AND TO FEEL HER PAIN WHEN SHE'S HURTING? WELL, BECAUSE THAT'S JUST SO ROMANTIC," Draco bit back sarcastically.

Blaise sighed. Draco was in his bad mood again. Blaise didn't blame him, but it still stung when his best friend acted like the git he used to be. Sometimes Blaise wished that his friend remembered that most of Slytherin had turned against them since they had either sat on the fence during the war or had simply been too cowardly to help the Dark Lord, leading to his death, and then had started to not believe in the pureblood supremity anymore. But for now, Blaise was going to have to help his friend get past this, it was one thing knowing that he was involved in a stupid prophecy and another entirely to have to be bonded to someone.

"Draco," Blaise started softly, hoping to calm his friend down, "it's exactly what it is. You are going to bound to someone you LOVE, Draco, LOVE, this is not going to be some stupid arranged pureblood bonding ceremony, so don't worry so much. You are going to meet someone you LOVE and don't mind sharing the rest of your life with. The thing you should be worried about is finding out this potion since it seems vital in the prophecy, and only THREE people know about it. Maybe you should start asking people whom you know that might have an idea of what this potion speaks of. I'm sorry that you have to go through this, Draco, I really am, but it's happened now, and all you can do is to take it into your stride and make sure this whole prophecy thing goes by without a hitch and you are able to get out of this in one piece. Instead of shouting and trying to vent your anger, maybe you should calm down and think this through."

Blaise grabbed Pansy's hand and led her out of the common room, but not before stopping to look back at Draco sadly and whispering," and for the record Draco, do try to remember that we are your friends, and we are also stuck in this goddamned prophecy, so if we care about you, maybe you should try to think about our feeliings before you bite back at us. If you need our help, you know where we'll be."

Blaise closed the portrait door on the other side, and right before the both of them turned around to walk back to the dungeons, the unmistakable sound of some glass shattering sounded from the common room they had just vacated.

Blaise sighed and shook his head. _I guess Draco will be Draco. _

Draco's POV:

Draco left his room after a nice little raging sessions with his empty bottles of Firewhiskey. He couldn't believe he had been so rotton towards his friends just now, yelling at them, and when Blaise had put it like that…_Fuck. I didn't know they were that pissed with me. But when they voiced it out like that, ugh. _Draco felt very horrible inside. He had pushed his friends away from him by himself, and for that he felt upset. He needed them more than ever now. They were the ones that had stood by him throughout all the taunts and whispers that had been driving him up the wall. _They were, and are, my anchors, _Draco drilled into his head, _I'm not going to make them feel like they have a rotten friend. _

Draco really still didn't know how he should approach his godfather about the new potion that he had heard about that Blaise had so kindly translated into English for him. He knew this was the kind of thing he shouldn't keep from his mother, and Draco was sure that he would send a letter to her once he had gotten all this sorted out. Since she was a Malfoy and a Black previously, she might know something about this potion or this ritual. On the other hand, Uncle Severus was a very good potioneer and he was close to Lucius when they were growing up, so there was a chance that he might have a clue as to the history and the functions of this potion. Even though this was his uncle, it was still going to be awkward. Draco wasn't sure whether to ask about his Inheritance or just immediately tell his godfather about the predicament he was in.

Draco paused with his hand poised to knock on the giant wooden door. He hesistated for a second, and felt tempted to hightail out of there, but then gathered up his wits and sharply rapped on the door. After receiving the affirmation that he could enter, Draco cautiously pushed open the door and stepped into the cold, damp room. He schooled his expression into the blank mask and hoped that it would fool his godfather. However, Draco knew that his godfather was extremely observant and would probably detect something off about him immediately. Draco gave up the façade then, and the way he walked was a dead give-away. Instead of holding his chin up and wearing the Malfoy smirk on his face, he shuffled his feet towards Severus, and promptly plonked himself down onto the chair.

"Look at me, boy."

Severus tilted Draco's chin up, and gazed into his god-son's silver orbs. Draco looked away almost immediately, and refused to meet his godfather's stare. Severus stepped back and sighed, wringing his hands and sinking down into his chair again. Draco looked curiously at his godfather. He seemed to be deep in thought, and judging from his uncomfortable shuffling, he was feeling awkward and Draco knew that he had something important to tell him. His godfather pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Draco, first things first, you know your promise to your mother, so why did you have to go antagonize Miss Granger? You know very well that you were out of line today, have you no manners boy? Do you know how hard I've worked and how many sacrifices I've made so that you could get out of this war without so much as a hair out of place? I don't want to see my effort wasted, Draco, and you and I both know damn well that you are good and as much as you hate to admit it, you didn't actually mean what you said this morning down at the Great Hall, neither did you mean all those hateful things you said to Miss Granger the other day outside my classroom. Oh Draco, when will you grow up? You're too egoistical to admit you're wrong sometimes, and as your godfather, I would hate to see your entire future destroyed because you couldn't let go of your previous teachings, which I hasten to add, have been extremely wrong. You know, don't you, that I'm right?"

Draco nodded his head slightly, his eyes still downcast. He felt extremely horrid inside. He knew he had been wrong, but to get told off by his godfather in such a disappointed sigh, Draco felt even more horrible, if that was even possible.

"I know, Uncle Sev, I know I was being a ass to Granger today. I don't even know what got into me. Rest assured, I will patch things up with her. To answer your question, yes, I will keep the promise I made to my mum, and just out of curiosity, how did you know about that and after that, kindly explain to me why you are so fidgety this evening."

Draco thought he saw his uncle grimace.

"Well firstly, Draco, your mother and I are very close, just like always, and during a recent conversation that we had over tea, she mentioned to me how proud she was that you were willing to change who you were. She was so ecstatic that finally things might just look up in the Malfoy household. I really hope you don't disappoint her," Snape said directing a pointed glare to him.

Draco looked down, ashamed.

"Well, on to more important things."

Draco looked up when he heard his godfather's tone change. It took on a lighter edge, but it sounded tired.

"Just a moment, Uncle Sev, I am in a kind of predicament and I was wondering if you could help me decipher this potion. Recently, there's been this whole hullabaloo about a prophecy and well, I kind of think I'm in the middle of this whole ruckus, and there was this woman in my mind who told me about a potion that I assume I'm supposed to make and drink," Draco said, rolling up his sleeve to show his godfather the tattoo that lay hidden within.

At once the snake hissed and coiled itself protectively around the lion. The lion roared and made a swiping motion when Snape grabbed his hand and brought it to his face for a closer look. Snape's face was white, almost more pale than Draco's complexion. _That is NOT a good sign, _thought Draco.

"Draco…this tattoo…it's extremely real. You say you got this from a prophecy? I will do a little research on this occurrence. I'm pretty sure that this has happened before and history is about to repeat itself. Please recite the properties of this potion that you heard about from that um, wispy voice in your head."

"The part about the potion is in Italian, but everything that the woman said to me, well…I'll write it down for you," Draco explained.

He couldn't give Snape the original copy of the transcript. He needed it for analysis himself. Snape thrust a piece of parchment, a quill and a bottle of ink to him, and he took out the crumpled piece of parchment with the writing and scribbled the words onto the fresh parchment, in the exact wording of what he had recorded.

_The noble property of M shall shatter_

_From it rise the ashes of trust and doubt_

_Trust, forgive and forget, the righteous thing to do_

_Doubt, hurt and kill, the easier thing to do_

_An ancient blood ritual shall be awakened_

_A ritual only known to 3_

_Search hard you shalt find the meaning_

_Listen hard and carefully_

_Dal sangue del traditore e del suo amore_

_Dal l'osso del suo ammiratore _

_Preparare una pozione cosi potenti a unirsi a noi insieme inamorato_

_Per legarci insieme e sentire l'altro il dolore e la sofferenza_

_Per essere sempre conforme a ciascuno degli altri cuori_

_A spell cast at midnight,_

_Witnessed by family alike_

_To join both spirit and soul together_

_For all eternity_

He handed the completed prophecy to his godfather, and he watched as his godfather's eyes widened while quickly scanning through the prophecy.

"Dra….Draco…are you sure this is what she said?" Snape stuttered.

That was not a good sign. Severus Snape never stuttered.

"Yes Uncle Sev, Blaise translated it for me. It roughly means…"

"Yes, yes I know what it means, dear boy," Snape interrupted impatiently, "I was merely hoping that you were wrong, but obviously not. Listen closely, boy, this has happened before. The tattoo, the use of the potion, ALL of it. This cannot be good news. The tattoo was used long ago during the founder's times, and the potion was recorded to have been used only ONCE in the annals of the wizards. I need to research more on this, maybe I'll borrow one of the books in the Headmistress' office, the book on the founders and the difficulties they faced. Meanwhile, Draco, I need you to bring me a book from the library in Malfoy Manor. I will ask for permission from Headmistress Minerva and allow you to apparate back to Malfoy Manor and get the book. The book is called, **"Moste Potente Potions: Recipes handed down from the purest of lines". **You must get this for me as soon as you can so that I can begin researching immediately. But don't tell Cissa. She must be kept in the dark until I confirm my suspicions. Oh, this is not good," Snape whispered worriedly.

Draco looked slightly scared, and he quickly asked the first question that came to his mind.

"Uncle Sev, you said that the potion was used ONCE, and only once, who used it, and what happened to them?"

"Don't ask questions, boy, I will tell you when all is revealed," Snape snapped, and then his tone changed to one that was more gentle, "But for what it's worth, Draco, good luck."

Draco nodded, resigned. He knew nothing would sway Snape's mind. That guy was as stubborn as a mule sometimes. He couldn't do anything now, and it would do him no good to speculate and scare himself, so he asked the next question that had been troubling him since the start of their meeting.

"Alright, Uncle Sev, before you speak of the important things that you wanted to talk to me about, I was wondering if there may be anything important that I need to know before my 17th birthday comes and I receive my Inheritance. My mother keeps changing the topic whenever I ask her about it. Is it something really bad? Can I do anything to prepare for it?" Draco cut in before his godfather started on something, because he knew if he didn't, he would have to wait till the conversation was over before asking the question that had been nagging at him. His godfather despised interruptions once he started.

Snape sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Yes Draco, that's exactly what I've been meaning to talk to you about."

Draco nearly fell off his chair in shock. That was the important thing that had Snape wanted to talk about that made him look so ill? Was it really something that bad? Would it turn his whole life upside down? Was he going to be writhing in pain? Is this why his mother kept avoiding the subject? Is this why she wouldn't tell him? _But, but, but, she would tell me if it was bad for me, right? My own mother would care about my well-being, so she would tell me if this was something that would endanger me, RIGHT? _The problem was that his mother had never been the most caring parent in the world, and she hadn't exactly showered him with love and affection during his childhood, had she? So there was a big question mark at the end.

_Thud._

"Here," Snape pulled out a thick book that was sitting in his lap before this, and thrust it onto the table.

Draco leant forward in his chair to read the title, gripping the sides of his chair tightly, afraid of what he might see on the cover page of the book.

"_**The mystical beings amongst us: A guide to Veelas." **_

Draco let out the breath that he didn't know he had been holding. Veela. He was a Veela. Draco slumped back into the chair with a relieved sigh. He didn't know much about Veelas, but he remembered the Beauxbatons champion who had come to Hogwarts during the Triwizard tournament, and the Veelas that had been the cheerleaders at the Quidditch World Cup. They had been normal people, the only difference was that they were excessively beautiful. Being the ever egoistical prat he was, Draco thought to himself, _now all my good looks make sense now. _

Draco was nearly bouncing in his seat now, so that means he was going to be even more attractive than before after his Inheritance, and perhaps, just perhaps, he could start living up to his reputation of "Sex God". Draco was actually looking forward to this, he could captivate people entirely, and then break their hearts when he felt like leaving them. His face was bursting with happiness. When he had calmed down, he looked back at his godfather, who was still looking as serene as ever, staring at him as if he had gone out of his mind.

"Why so grim looking Uncle Sev? Isn't this a good thing? I'll be more handsome, more sexy, more bachelor material, more sought after, more popular, more.."

Draco was abruptly cut off by his godfather who had put up his hand to stop him right where his was. Draco shut up immediately.

"Draco," his godfather started calmly, "you must understand that being a Veela is not all about looks. There are many things that are more important than your new looks, there are conditions that might be achieved, failure of this can lead to death. There are new things you need to understand, and you can only do that if you read through this book over here that I will give to you. But I'm going to highlight the most important thing that you must follow. Draco, being a female Veela is easy. They merely have good looks and flirty abilities, making them easy to attract men. A male Veela is different Draco, flip to chapter 7 on page 58."

Draco obediently sat forward on his chair and flipped open the old book. He flipped till page 58 and stared at the title, which stared back at him, only seeming to grow bigger under his gaze when he concentrated on the bolded words for a longer time.

"_**The Social Life of a Male Veela: Mating and Behavior"**_

"Ma….mate?" Draco's life cracked.

He stared at the page for a little while longer, not believing what he saw.

"Does mating mean sex in general with anyone I choose, or does it mean…"Draco trailed off, leaving Snape to answer the unspoken question.

Snape rolled his eyes.

"Yes Draco, it means with the ONE person you are truly destined to be with."

Draco spluttered indignantly.

"But…BUT…that stuff about ONE true love is like preposterous! There's like a 1 in a million chance that I'll find THE one. That can't be possible at all. Think of how many people there are who are purebloods, least of all, RESPECTABLE purebloods. I will never be able to investigate through all the families and get close to all of them to know who's THE one for me. Uncle Sev, you've got to help me, there's no way I can find her on my own…"

"Draco, shut your mouth right this moment and calm yourself."

Draco continued rambling, not connecting whatever it was he was saying but merely going on and on and on. For all he knew, his brain had ceased functioning and he was now a lunatic.

"10 POINTS FROM SLYTHERIN!"

Draco stopped, his jaw hung open as he stared at his godfather who had just docked points from his own house.

"It seems this is the only way to get you to shut up and listen to me," Snape stated, with a slightly amused look on his face. "Now are you ready to start listening?"

Draco nodded, still at a loss of words.

"Firstly, your mate may or may not be a pureblood. I'm not saying that we are 100% sure that your mate is not a pureblood, but there is a chance that your mate may be a muggle-born, or a half-blood, but don't worry, she will be a witch. Secondly, even though you are well known for your reputation as a playboy, I know you better. You truly want to settle down with someone you love and start a family, and not go on with arranged marriages. I've seen this in your mind when I was teaching you Occlumency. Being a Veela means that you were born with a specific partner you were destined to be with. You will know who she is because you will find yourself attracted to her irrevocably and you will find yourself facing an overwhelming desire to claim her for your own. You will find yourself being extremely protective of her especially if she is pregnant with child. This mate of yours will be someone you actually already fancy deep down, and the Veela hormones won't force you to like her. They only intensify the secret desires that you may have deep down in your heart."

Snape stopped and took a breath.

"The most important thing I wanted to talk to you about is the mating," Snape said.

Draco gave a grimace and a snort of disbelief. Snape looked horrified at the thought.

"No, No, No, I'm not going to tell you how to mate, that's for you to find our for yourself in this chapter. You can read this in your own time. I just wanted to give you a head's up on how to find your mate. Firstly, you will find yourself attracted to many females who may have one or more of the same characteristics as your mate, but this feeling will intensify around your mate. You will feel pain when she is hurt, find your emotions being influenced by hers, and jealousy when another male touches her. Since you have been a young boy, we have analyzed all the girls that you have taken a liking to and become friends with, and we realized that you were particularly fond of girls with brown eyes. You might want to consider that. Oh, and Draco, this isn't a laughing matter, you could die if you don't mate within 3 months. I know it's a short notice, so you might want to start looking for your mate since she might not like it if you forced yourself on her in order to keep your life."

Draco's jaw kept opening and closing out of it's own accord while listening to his godfather.

"I…I can actually….die?"

Snape nodded solemnly at him, and then cleared his throat.

"Well, anyway, this book is for you to keep. You might want to comb through this book, but I'll highlight another important issue. On the night of your birthday, you will most likely experience the Changing, which is a process that all Veelas go through when they come of age. You will turn into your Veela form, complete with wings and fangs. The Changing will be painful, so I suggest you be alone then and cast a Silencing spell on the room. Alternatively, if you would like, you could always spend the night with me at my quarters. I can help you through it. Your Veela form will only emerge after the Changing when you feel the need to protect your mate and during..uh…periods of well uh…intense….um…pleasure, but you will not morph into your full form most of the time," Snape finished awkwardly.

Draco wasn't so sure. From what he had heard about Veelas, they were particularly ferocious when they were in their Veela form. He could hurt his godfather if he were to be unable to control himself.

"Thanks for the offer, Severus, but I think I should be fine."

"Alright, but here's a potion that I whipped up earlier that should help you with the pain. Remember to barricade the door when you Change and put up silencing charms. Anyone who walks in on you could be in serious danger. Do flip through the book and if you have any questions, you can either owl me or come see me personally."

Draco nodded and took the old, tattered book from the table, standing up and making for the door.

"Oh, one more thing, Draco."

Draco stopped and turned around. He caught the scroll of parchment that his godfather tossed him, and unrolled it. Puzzled, he looked up questioningly at the Potions Master. What he saw on the roll of parchment was a whole list of names, _girl _names. _What's all this about? Why did he give me a whole list of girl names? Let's see…._ Draco looked up at his godfather. He couldn't believe that Severus had done so much for him. He had even researched all the girls in the school who had brown eyes? Draco hadn't seen many familiar names down there and only a few names had popped up at him. **Lavender Brown, Hannah Abbott, Hermione Granger, Candice Canole, Ginny Weasley. **So here he was. These were the five people whom he already knew and had interacted with at least once before. The slut, the Hufflepuff, the Head Girl, and the Slytherin sixth year, and the Weaslette. Wow. What options. _Oh well, I guess I'll have to wait till my Veela instincts kick in before I know who's the one for me. _

"Thanks Uncle Sev!"

His godfather waved him off and Draco gave a final nod to him before exiting the room, folding the parchment neatly and placing it into his pocket. Draco looked down at his watch. It was near curfew, and he would have to hurry to get back. He hadn't gotten a permission slip from Snape to be out wandering the corridors late, though he could always use the excuse that he was patrolling if any annoying Prefect or Professor were to catch him up and about. His mind was a huge jumble now, and there were questions popping up in every crevice of his mind. _Maybe this is how Granger feels all the time, _he joked to himself. Then he remembered. _Oh crap. _He had to deal with Hermione Granger, and he had a feeling it was NOT going to be pretty.


	13. Tales of Discoveries

**Author's Note:**

**Parvati48: Glad you enjoyed the chapter. This story is going to include many elements that I hope I can weave together appropriately! The research of Snape will not be shown this chapter but soon! **

**Beautiful-Liar13: I'm glad you liked the story so far:D Regarding how he had hurt Draco, I hope it will come clear to you this chapter, and just to clear things up, Draco's Veela abilities indeed came from his mother's side, but female Veelas, like I mentioned in my previous chapter, do not have mates. They are merely more attractive in terms of physical appearances.**

**Tales of Discoveries**

Hermione's POV:

Hermione sighed. _Today is SO not my day. First, I get shouted at by Malfoy who calls me a mudblood. He is totally turning back into the insensitive git that he was before. I thought he might have had a change of heart, but clearly, I was wrong. Then, in Arithmancy class, I had forgotten to bring my completed assignment and I had to run all the way back to her dormitory to retrieve it. I never forget my homework. Never. What's happened to me? Am I letting this whole Malfoy business get to me? _She was still upset from yesterday when he had pushed her down in front of his Slytherin mates. To her, it was a kind of betrayal. He had comforted her, to hurt her. _I guess I really expected too much from him. I really thought he was going to defend me, after I woke him up from his nightmare and healed him. But…_

Hermione miserably shuffled her feet as she walked around the empty corridors for her rounds. She clutched her robes tightly around her as the cold air of the dungeons hit her. It was particularly chilly tonight and she wished she had worn a thicker layer of clothing. She hated this part of her patrol. The Slytherin dungeons was the place where everything seemed unfriendly and the flames from the torches barely lit the way. This was the part of the castle where she usually would dish out the most detentions and catch many cases of rule-breaking. Hermione was highly alert when she walked these grounds. Therefore, she was startled when she heard a pair of whispered voices conversing behind a partially closed door.

Being the ever curious girl, she leant in closer and tried to discern the voices. Her ear was placed right next to the crack in the door and obviously she got quite a big shock when she heard a voice exclaim, "10 POINTS FROM SLYTHERIN." Hermione had reeled back in shock so quickly that she had almost fallen flat onto her back. She caught her balance and frazzled, she composed herself and leant against the wall beside the door. The voice no doubt belonged to one Professor Snape and he had just dished out a punishment on his student. That was a bit surprising. Professor Snape always was biased towards Slytherin and never deducted house points from them.

The voice had dropped back down to a lower level and Hermione had to strain to hear the conversation. She was so close to the door now that any wrong move could make her lose her center of gravity easily and fall into the room. She really wanted to hear this conversation though. She peered in through the crack and saw the professor sitting down on his chair behind the desk but the person he was talking to was not within her view. She knew that it was probably Malfoy that the professor was talking to now since that git had landed himself in detention with his favourite professor, which was, really, not a detention at all. They were only talking, but Hermione was very interested to know what was going on in that room. _Oh I would kill to have an Extendable Ear right now, _thought Hermione.

The Weasley Wizard Wheezes products were banned by Filch since they created a swamp that took him a long time to clear out. Hermione still caught students using them in the corridors, and she saw the effects of their products, the Puking Pastilles and the Canary Creams to be exact. She had taken away many house points from the offenders but it didn't seem like the interest in the products were any close to falling. Filch still complained about the products that he had found after intercepting some random school owls. In fact, one of the only main reasons why Gryffindor was losing house points was because many of them had purchased some of the twins' products and had tried to smuggle them in via inconspicuous owls. Some of them made it through, judging from the incidents they had during the parties that they held in the common room after a Gryffindor Quidditch victory, which was actually after every single game that they played. It made the parties more interesting since there were people exploding in a whirl of feathers every few minutes.

Hermione was determined to at least catch a few words out of their conversation. Malfoy couldn't be trusted, and the last time Harry had caught them having a late night chat together, it was about Malfoy's mission and of course that hadn't been a very good thing. She shut her eyes in concentration and leant her left ear as close to the door as possible, and used one of her hands to cover the other ear so that she was able to hear their conversation more clearly. They were still talking much too softly for her human ear to detect though, but occasionally the tone in Snape's voice would change and the pitch of his voice would increase, causing Hermione to catch a few words here and there. She remained silent throughout their whole conversation, her eyebrows furrowing as she caught some of the words.

Then suddenly a chair scraped and Malfoy came into her view. With a small gasp, she quickly tore herself away from the door and brisk walked back to their dormitories. She glanced down at her watch and silently berated herself for wasting a large part of her patrol eavesdropping on their conversation instead of doing her duties. _No matter, _she told herself, _what's done is done. _Her patrol was over now and she would have to hurry if she didn't want to get caught, being out of bed past hours. Right as she rounded the bend and started scurrying up the steps, she heard the unmistakable sound of a door being closed and knew that Malfoy had exited the room. She ran up the stairs two steps at a time. She didn't want Malfoy to see her around this part of the castle and suspect something, even though she was definitely going to confront him about what she heard tonight. _At the same time, _she thought, _I'm going to give him an earful about how he has treated me like dirt. _

Running down the corridor and stepping into her dormitory after a hurried whisper of the password, she stepped into the cozy common room and took a deep breath. She settled herself comfortably on the couch and ran through the words she had heard from the conversation. It was quite unsettling really. From what she had heard, it seemed like Malfoy was going to be terrorizing girls and killing them. _**Girls…brown eyes…die…3 months…keep your life…wings…fangs…morph… **_All in all, Hermione found this very suspicious. It sounded like a murder plot, and Hermione was going to confront Malfoy about this, because she had brown eyes and she didn't feel like dying within 3 months, not to mention all the other ignorant girls out there.

Footsteps could be heard outside the portrait hole, and seconds later they stopped and the portrait swung open to reveal the boy she had been waiting for. She stood up quickly and smoothed her hair over, trying to appear as un-terrified as possible, but inside, her heart was racing and she was almost shivering in fear. But first, she would yell at him for being a bitch to her.

She was pleased to see that Malfoy looked slightly terrified at her, but that expression was quickly gone as usual and his face returned to the usual blank mask. Maybe he had anticipated their conversation.

"Hi, uh…Mione," Draco softly said.

Hermione almost scoffed out loud at this.

"MIONE, YOU CALL ME MIONE? AFTER ALL YOU HAVE DONE TO ME THESE PAST TWO DAYS YOU STILL HAVE THE FUCKING NERVE TO CALL ME MIONE? OH SO YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST WALTZ IN HERE AND PRETEND NOTHING HAPPENED? LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING MALFOY," and Hermione really emphasized the last word, spitting it out into his face and pleased when he flinched slightly, "I TRUSTED YOU AND YOU THREW IT ALL BACK IN MY FACE! SO DON'T YOU DARE MIONE ME BECAUSE OUR FRIENDSHIP IS NO MORE YOU HEAR ME? OVER!"

Hermione huffed and crossed her arms, before turning away from Malfoy and slumping back into the couch with tears of anger in her eyes. She still couldn't believe that after starting to trust Malfoy, he had thrown everything back into her face, and to be honest, it hurt a hell lot because she actually thought they could be friends. To tell the truth, both of them had many things in common. They were both smart, liked reading books, and had gone through a lot of tough times. They could relate to each other, but of course the main difference that was driving a wedge between them was blood purity issues. She had half a mind to yell some sense into him, but he beat her to it first.

Malfoy came over to the couch and stood in front of her. He at least had the decency to look ashamed. Hermione looked up at him and saw him run his fingers through his hair, looking a little torn about what to say. She never knew he could look that awkward, and honestly she found it slightly amusing, but her anger at the situations she had been put through far outweighed her amusement, and her glare stayed firmly in place. After what seemed like ages, Malfoy cleared his throat and stepped forward slightly.

Clearing his throat, he whispered, "Fuck, Hermione I'm so sorry, I never meant to treat you that way. I guess after everything that's happened, I really should have been nicer, but you have to believe me, Hermione, I am really trying. Sometimes the teachings that my father have ingrained in me are rooted so deep, you know, and I'm sorry I didn't have the strength to stand up for the both of us. I guess I still care about the Slytherin's opinions about me. I'm sorry about the other day, what I did was totally out of line and I was acting like a jerk. I'm really really sorry Hermione, look, I uh…promise this will never happen again."

Then he added under his breath when he looked down, thinking Hermione hadn't heard him, "Fuck, fuck, fuck, Draco what did you just say, that was an incoherent mush of word cereal. Oh god I suck at this whole apologizing thing."

Hermione was faintly amused at this and the corner of her lips tilted upwards slightly. _He is quite cute when he is feeling awkward and doesn't know what he is doing, _she thought to herself, _his eyes are wandering all over the place and his hands are all tensed. I wonder if he realizes that he actually is acting this way. Whoa wait, Hermione FOCUS, you are supposed to be yelling at him, not noticing the way he behaves, _she berated herself.

What he said had actually sounded sincere, but she was still slightly doubtful. After what she had heard from his and Snape's conversation, she needed to make sure that he wasn't up to something before forgiving him. Even then, she wouldn't fully forgive him. He would need to earn her trust back slowly. After all, how could he expect her to fully trust him back just from one simple apology, no matter how sincere he sounded. She was going to question him about what she had heard first, and then she'll decide whether to give him another chance.

"Alright, let's say I believe that you really didn't mean what you did, and that you simply need time to get used to being nice. The only reason why I am reluctant to trust that you really mean well is because I heard what you and Snape are conversing about in **detention**," and at this, Hermione made quotation marks in the air.

"It all sounded very suspicious to me, well, at least from what I heard. From my point of view, it all sounded like a plot to get rid of some of the girls in school, a murder plot if I may. Here are the words I heard, _**Girls…brown eyes…die…3 months…keep your life…wings…fangs…morph… **_It all seems like an elaborate plot to have some dark monster kill girls with brown eyes. So, what have you got to say to explain yourself?"

Hermione was scooting away from him now, slightly afraid that he would whip out his wand and petrify her when she wasn't expecting it. Her hand reached around to her pocket and she grasped her wand as a precaution, ready to pull it out and cast a shield charm. Her stance had switched to defensive, and one of her hands was poised in front of her ready to block any nasty hexes. She knew it was stupid and that it wouldn't work, but at least it might prevent a curse from hitting her torso. Hermione waited apprehensively as Draco seemed to look slightly scared. _Did he really have something to hide? _

Draco's POV:

Draco was walking back to the Head common room, praying with all his might that the Head Girl was asleep. When he whispered the password and stepped into the common room, all of his hopes that Hermione was asleep immediately vanished. She was standing in front of the fireplace, looking angry but also slightly…._afraid? _Was she really frightened of him because he had acted like his father, being cruel? Anyhow, she was angry, and Draco knew that when Hermione Granger was angry, it was outright terrifying. He couldn't show his weakness though, and quickly masked it again. It was getting really awkward in the room, and the tension was so thick in the air he could sliced it with a knife. He felt himself getting hot under the collar under her scrutinizing gaze and knew that he would have to speak first to get it over with. _Alright Draco, here goes…_

"Hi, uh…Mione," he tentatively whispered.

Draco watched as her face showed even more rage, if that was possible. He shrunk back slightly as her face turned from red, to purple with suppressed rage. _Fuck, that was the wrong thing to say. Now she's going to get even more angry at me. Oh god Draco which idiot calls her by her nickname when you have offended her so badly in the past few days. Oh my goodness Draco you a stupid idiot and I'll be surprised if she doesn't punch you again like in third year. What were you thinking ugh. _Draco was getting a slight headache while torn between defending himself from his mind's own bashing and watching the emotions play across Hermione's face. He watched as she put her hands on her hips and inhaled. _Oh god here it comes. _

"MIONE, YOU CALL ME MIONE? AFTER ALL YOU HAVE DONE TO ME THESE PAST TWO DAYS YOU STILL HAVE THE FUCKING NERVE TO CALL ME MIONE? OH SO YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST WALTZ IN HERE AND PRETEND NOTHING HAPPENED? LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING MALFOY," and Hermione really emphasized the last word, spitting it out into his face and he flinched slightly, "I TRUSTED YOU AND YOU THREW IT ALL BACK IN MY FACE! SO DON'T YOU DARE MIONE ME BECAUSE OUR FRIENDSHIP IS NO MORE YOU HEAR ME? OVER!" Hermione screamed at him, gesturing wildly.

Draco looked down, ashamed. He knew what he had done was wrong, and he had had three different people tell that to him. There was Blaise, his godfather, and now the person whom he had victimized. This was an awful day. Having Hermione say it straight to his face sent a sharp cut through all the fog in his mind. He was now sure that he would never do it to her again. Sure, he may not been perfectly civil to her and they will have their disagreements, but he would never call her, no, anyone, that derogatory term again. Now, he would need to formulate a decent apology. He almost laughed at himself. He was a Malfoy, and they never apologized, especially to one who they considered to be of lower status. But here he was, the great Draco Malfoy, Slytherin Prince, trying to find the correct words to get himself out of this mess that he had brought about to himself. _It's now or never, Draco. Fuck, _he laughed silently, _first apology and it is to the Gryffindor Princess. _

Clearing his throat, he whispered, "Fuck, Hermione I'm so sorry, I never meant to treat you that way. I guess after everything that's happened, I really should have been nicer, but you have to believe me, Hermione, I am really trying. Sometimes the teachings that my father have ingrained in me are rooted so deep, you know, and I'm sorry I didn't have the strength to stand up for the both of us. I guess I still care about the Slytherin's opinions about me. I'm sorry about the other day, what I did was totally out of line and I was acting like a jerk. I'm really really sorry Hermione, look, I uh…promise this will never happen again."

Immediately, he felt stupid.

Then he added under his breath when he looked down, "Fuck, fuck, fuck, Draco what did you just say, that was an incoherent mush of word cereal. Oh god I suck at this whole apologizing thing." He was thoroughly frustrated at his lack of ability to form his thoughts into a coherent sentence.

He stared at his feet, too embarrassed to even look up at her. He sincerely hoped that she would accept his apology, but he also sincerely prayed that she hadn't heard his murmur. Glancing up to her through his eyelashes, he could see her trying to control her mirth and he knew that she had heard him. _Fuck, Draco, now you look like a complete idiot. Who says incoherent mush of word cereal anyway? _She seemed to get a hold of herself very soon and she spoke.

"Alright, let's say I believe that you really didn't mean what you did, and that you simply need time to get used to being nice."

He breathed a sigh of relief.

"The only reason why I am reluctant to trust that you really mean well is because I heard what you and Snape are conversing about in **detention**," and at this, she made quotation marks in the air.

She tensed up.

"It all sounded very suspicious to me, well, at least from what I heard. From my point of view, it all sounded like a plot to get rid of some of the girls in school, a murder plot if I may. Here are the words I heard, _**Girls…brown eyes…die…3 months…keep your life…wings…fangs…morph… **_It all seems like an elaborate plot to have some dark monster kill girls with brown eyes. So, what have you got to say to explain yourself?"

_Oh, fuck. How am I going to explain this to her? Oh I know, Draco, why don't you say something along the lines of this? Hey Hermione, I'm a Veela and oh look Snape gave me a list of potential mates and oh there you are, your name's on the list. Ain't that exciting? You could be the one for me, isn't that great? Real smooth Draco, real smooth. I know, how about I tell her that it has something to do with my Inheritance, but don't tell her about the whole thing? Wait no, that won't work. That doesn't explain the part about girls with brown eyes and me dying if I don't mate by 3 months. Crap. _

"Wait a minute, Malfoy, what is that you're hiding behind your back?" Hermione questioned, jerking Draco out of his thoughts.

_Oh man._

"It's….uh…..it's….nothing. Nothing important really," Draco stuttered out.

She whipped out her wand in an instant, pointing it directly at him. She looked terrifying. She was probably genuinely afraid and angry at the same time about what she had heard and wanted to know what he was hiding really badly. Her hair was almost crackling with power and there was this aura around her.

"DRACO MALFOY, YOU SLIMY LITTLE FERRET! YOU WILL SHOW ME WHAT IT IS YOU ARE HIDING BEHIND YOUR BACK. OR ELSE, THE MALFOY LINE ENDS WITH YOU!" She screamed, pointing her wand to his privates.

Draco gulped. He really didn't like the idea of having his man parts get vanished or hurt. He was really quite proud of them, and he definitely wanted to have a family when he grew up. The safer way was to just show her the book and get it over with.

"I'M GIVING YOU THREE SECONDS MALFOY, YOU EITHER SHOW ME WHAT YOU'RE HOLDING, OR YOU CAN KISS YOUR PRECIOUS BITS GOODBYE. AND DON'T YOU DARE COME ANY CLOSER TO ME NOW!"

_Shit there's nothing else I can do is there? This will be the most effective explanation and it would save me from having to go in depth or make excuses. I don't even want to lie anymore. _

"THREE!"

_Is this the right thing to do? Maybe she can even help me, seeing how she's a know-it-all, and I don't know much about this whole Veela thing. But oh fuck, she's on the list of potential mates. This is not going to be pretty._

"TWO!"

_Oh man I don't have much time left I guess I should just play safe and give it to her right? I mean after all, what are the chances that she'll be my mate? It's not like I've harboured some deep secret desire for her. For merlin's sake, I have been taunting her since first year. The chances are so minimal…right?_

"ONE!"

"Okay, okay, okay, relax Hermione, put your wand down and I'll show you what I'm hiding. It's nothing much really, it's just a book."

Hermione stared at him skeptically, not lowering her wand. Draco put his hands up in the air like he was surrendering, letting her see that what he was holding was indeed a book. He moved slowly towards her, afraid that any sudden movement might trigger a violent reaction from her. Any wrong move and he could be on the receiving end of a very painful hex. When he finally reached her, he carefully handed the book to her. She transferred her wand to her left hand, still keeping it aimed at him, and reached out her right hand to receive the book from his left. Their hands brushed for a fraction of a second and immediately, both of their forearms started glowing.

Horrified, Draco snatched his hand back and tried to stuff it into his pocket, but Hermione was faster and her hand had jerked out and grabbed ahold of him. She pushed his sleeve up hurriedly and took off her robe, all the while holding onto his forearm. If this was in another context, Draco would have made some sexual remark, but this was obviously not a time for games. The book had fallen from their outstretched glowing hands, and lay on the ground between them, forgotten. He tried to push away her hand that was going to reveal his tattoo, but she was too quick and soon he heard her utter a gasp as she took in the sight of his tattoo. He watched her scuffle with her own robe but soon she had removed it and on her right forearm lay an identical one.

He watched, fascinated, as she brought her hand closer to his forearm and tentatively, with her fingers, touched it. The effect was instantaneous. A jolt ran through him and Hermione gasped. Judging from her reaction, she had felt that little shock as well, and them simultaneously, both of their tattoos were lined with red. Draco gasped. He had never seen this reaction before. When Blaise, Pansy, or his godfather had touched it, the tattoo had merely shifted slightly and the creature had appeared protective. But this, this was something he had never seen before. Then Hermione brought her forearm closer to his, and placed her tattoo directly onto his. Another jolt ran through them both, but this time it was more powerful than the last. Then a wispy image appeared above both of their forearms. A lion and a snake. It depicted the view of a savannah, where a lion lay in the tall grass and the snake coiled around it. Normally it would have seemed like the snake was trying to strangle the lion but in this case, there was a kind of connection between the two animals that Draco could feel. It wasn't so much as to friendship, but more so as to love.

With a gasp, Draco tore his arm away from Hermione violently, the force causing him to fall onto his back. Gathering himself up, he quickly tore away from Hermione and ran up the stairs and into his room, shutting it and locking it with every single spell he knew to keep the Head Girl out of his room. He fell onto the bed with his face in the pillow. _Oh goodness, how did everything turn out to be so wacked up? Hermione's involved in this whole prophecy thing too! We both have the same tattoo, which does creepy stuff when we are both in close contact with each other. What are the odds that she could be my partner? She's on my list of potential mates, we have many things in common, we both have the same matching tattoo, and not to mention, they act weirdly when we touch. What are the odds that she is __**the one?**_

Draco sighed and then went to his desk to sit down. He put his head onto his hands and ran them through his hair. _Why can't my life be normal for once? For the past 6 years, I've been trying to struggle to survive, and now when everything is fine, my life gets thrown off balance again. Oh yeah, I still have to worry about this nightmares that can inflict real pain on me. _Draco looked up, and then decided to take a look at the Veela book so that he could be prepared about what he might feel during the Changing. _Where is it? _ He lifted up his pillow, lifted up his blanket, peered under the bed, but then it hit him that he had left it downstairs on the floor, and the worst part, it was with Hermione Granger. Draco thanked the stars that the list of females was with him, safely tucked away in the pocket of his robes. He took it now and placed it in one of the drawers, making sure to put it beneath some other pieces of parchment from his friends.

_How am I going to get the book back? No doubt if I go out now to retrieve it, I will be interrogated by Granger, how am I going to…..oh._

He was rudely interrupted by someone knocking on his door. _It must be Granger, _he sighed to himself. Lethargically getting up of his chair and going to the door, Draco mentally prepared himself for the questions that would definitely follow. He took down all the charms he had placed on the door, and opened the door to find a witch with one hand on her hip and the other was waving the book around.

"I think you forgot something," she said softly.

Draco sighed, for what seemed like the umpteenth time that day.

Opening the door wider, he stepped aside and asked, "Why don't you come inside, I can answer your questions here."

The brunette tentatively stepped into his room and headed straight for the bed, plopping herself onto it and placing the book on her lap. Draco closed the door and warded it with a silencing charm, before sitting down on the chair in front of her.

Immediately, the onslaught of questions started.

"Is this true? Are you really a Veela? Where did the gene come from? When's your birthday? Who is your mate? Why do you have a tattoo? Why did it light up? Do you know something about this bizarre prophecy? Is there anything you have experienced that might be connected to it? Is there something bothering you?" The girl didn't take a single breath in between all the questions and she looked honestly curious.

"Here, Hermione…wait can I call you that?" Draco broke off for a moment, but after seeing her nod of assent, he continued, "to answer your barrage of questions, yes this is true, I'm really a Veela. The gene comes from my mother side of the family. My birthday is in two days, and I don't know who my mate is going to be. Uncle Sev is fairly sure that it will be a girl with brown eyes though, hence that is what you heard. I have a tattoo because I'm in the prophecy thing, jeez Hermione I thought you were smarter than that."

Hermione blushed at that and opened her mouth to protest, but Draco cut her off again.

I don' t know what it lit up, nor why we had this weird connection. I know nothing about this whole prophecy, but there is this one thing…"

Draco debated whether to tell her about the weird dream about his father.

Hermione sighed, "Draco just tell me. I promise this will stay between us and I'll even help you if you need it and if it's within my abilities."

Draco hesitated for a moment, then he gave in. He needed help to decipher this, and who better to help him than the brightest witch of their age? Draco could not deny she was incredibly intelligent, and she had read so many books. Surely, she might have come across something.

"Listen, Hermione," he glanced around furtively, afraid that someone could be watching them, "Remember the night when I had a nightmare and you came into my room? I was screaming, wasn't I?"

Hermione gave an affirmative nod.

"Well, I take it you know I was having a nightmare. In my dream, my father was torturing me. Before that, though, he told me that he was alive and he had gotten away from the kiss, paying someone a hefty sum to take it for him. He polyjuiced himself and got out. He knows I'm Head Boy, and that you're Head Girl. He also has someone spying on me from inside the castle's walls. He knows about the prophecy, my involvement in it, but he also says that I'll lead to his downfall. Then he tortured you, and when I refused to do the same, he crucio-ed me, and he was going to kill me, but right before the light hit me fully, you pulled me back into reality. I'm guessing that the spell grazing me gave me the cut on my stomach the night you woke me up."

Hermione gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. It seemed like she was doing an awful lot of that today.

"So that's why you had that wound the night of your nightmare. I thought it came from your dream too, since the wound was fresh and no one seemed to be around, but I forgot about it soon enough the next day because of what you said to me. This is important Draco, I'll need to research about this invasion of your dream. It could be serious Dark Magic, and it might tell us how to stop it from happening. Although, if what you said was true, that Lucius is still alive, then I think that the Order has to know at once, but we need to be sure first. I'll report this to Kingsley through an owl, and I'll ask him to dig up the body of Lucius Malfoy and see if what you said was right. If it really wasn't him, then the Polyjuice should have faded off by now, any concealment charm should have, no matter how powerful it was."

Draco didn't really like the idea of how he was going to have to get the Order into this, but he couldn't deny he was impressed that Hermione had contacts with the Minister of Magic.

"Anyway Draco," Hermione continued, and Draco smiled a little at her using his first name, "you're a real Veela, and your mate is going to be a girl with brown eyes right? Ignoring the disturbing fact that I might be your mate since our tattoo seems to act weirdly when we touch, are there any other people who could be your mate?"

Draco was a little disappointed that she seemed quite desperate to sought out other possibilities, and the hurt must have shown on his face, because a second later, Hermione said, "Look Draco, don't take this the wrong way. I'm not implying that it would be awful to be your mate, but both you and I know we are still at the friends stage, bordering between the enemy and friend stage, I might add, and we both know that you are going to have to mate within 3 months, or else you might die, at least that's what I gathered from the book. I know we have many things in common, and I cannot deny that you are handsome and nice when you want to be, but still it's just weird, but I guess we'll have to make sure that we really are meant to be together before figuring out what to do. So just answer me, anyone else who could be your mate?"

Draco nodded, understanding where she was coming from. _I mean, if someone were to tell me "Oh hey, you could be the person I have to have sex with within 3 months or I might die, and oh you're my mate for life," I would freak out as well, so I understand her reaction. _

"There are a few, but since I'm in the prophecy and the prophecy does mention a boy with the purest lineage and the purest beliefs, and I have little doubt that it is anyone but me. It says that his partner will be someone born not of pure lineage, so I am guessing my mate is half-blood or muggle-born, which strikes out, let's see…"

Draco retrieved the list from his drawer and crossed out several of the names.

"Ginny Weasley, Lavender Brown, oh thank the heavens she's not my mate that girl is a freaking slut."

"DRACO!" Hermione admonished.

"Alright, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Candice from my house is out, I think, unless she's one of the rare few who are half-bloods. Hannah Abbott is a possibility, though I'm not exactly sure I would be meant for a Hufflepuff," he said, being slightly disgusted at the thought.

"DRACO MALFOY there is nothing wrong with a Hufflepuff. Hannah is one of the sweetest, nicest, most kind people I've ever met and she's intelligent, creative…"

"Okay Hermione, I get the point, I'm sorry okay," he drawled out.

Hermione shut her mouth immediately and flushed a deep red. Draco smirked at her slightly.

Then she opened it again.

"Alright then, I was flipping through the book and I happened to see the part where your mate influences your emotions. When she gets hurt, you feel pain. When another male touches her, you get jealous and you have a strong desire to claim her as your own. You can also get attracted to other females with similar characteristics, so I think you're going to have to be careful about this thing. People who want you could use means to get you, and then you could die if you chose the wrong person."

Draco smirked again.

"Why, Hermione, are you already plotting to get me for yourself?"

"What….don't be absurd…Draco…I…ugh….n-no…" Hermione spluttered out.

Draco laughed heartily then. She was so cute when she was at a loss of words. _Wait what, did I just think of her as being cute. Oh my. _

"The changing Draco, it'll be painful, and I know you're going to have to lock your room, but I think I'm strong enough to help you. I could…"

"No. No Hermione absolutely not. I don't know what will happen and you could get hurt."

"Draco, just listen to me, I…"

She stopped when Draco adamantly shook his head, pressing his hands over his ears and humming a strange tune. _I'm going to have to remember to shut the room, and be there early, at least before dinner so that she can't get in. Knowing her Gryffindor courage and their stupid pity, she would try to sneak in before to help me, so I'm going to have to outwit her by getting in first,_ he thought.

When Hermione saw that he wasn't going to relent, she waved a hand at him and started for the door.

"It's getting late Draco, and we should go to bed. Goodnight."

Before she reached the door, Draco reached out and grabbed her wrist. She flushed at their contact and the tattoos lit up immediately.

"Look Hermione, I really don't want you to get hurt, and this weekend, I'm going back to the Manor to collect this book for Uncle Sev to analyse. I completely understand if you don't want to, but it would mean a lot to me if you would follow me there. We could spend some time there at the library going through the books of the Dark Arts. Maybe there'll be something about the invasion of my dream."

Hermione seemed to look at him doubtfully, and Draco hit himself in the head mentally. _Stupid stupid stupid, of course she doesn't want to go back with you. She doesn't trust you. Stupid stupid stupid stupid. _

"Alright," she whispered.

"It's perfectly alright that you don't want to come and I understand completely. I mean what was I thinking anyway, I'm going to the Manor and I'm asking you to come…wait what? What did you say?"

She giggled.

"I said alright."

Draco opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water.

"I…okay…I'll..uh…tell Professor Snape to excuse you too for the weekend…and I'll uh…see you tomorrow I guess… and I'm really sorry about the incident and I uh….okay goodnight."

Hermione smiled slightly at his antics and left the room through their shared bathroom, stepping into the room before turning around and then closing her bathroom door shut.

"Holy crap. She actually agreed," he said to no one in particular.

Amazed, he fell backwards onto his bed and shut his eyes. Sleep immediately took him, and this time, there were no horrid dreams of torture. He slept peacefully, unaware that the girl in the room next to his was doing exactly the same. Somewhere deep within both of their minds, they were pondering, about themselves, about their tattoos, about his lineage, and especially about what this could mean for them.


	14. Letters from Daddy Part 1

**Author's Note:**

**Thank you once again to the amazing Parvati48 who has been reviewing constantly and giving good constructive comments Cheers!**

**I apologise if I've screwed up the time frame for this story, but just to clear things up, the weekend a day away from when this chapter is set, and Draco's birthday is two days away, aka a day after their visit to the Manor. Hermione's birthday is two weeks after Draco's. Just thought I should clarify these things first. I know this isn't the case for the real characters in J.K Rowling's story, but I need to speed things up a bit lol. **

**To help with clarifying, the characters' birthdays are listed below.**

**Ron Weasley—1****st**** March**

**Harry Potter—31****ST**** July**

**Ginny Weasley—11****th**** August**

**Draco Malfoy—8****th**** September**

**Hermione Granger—22****nd**** September**

**Luna Lovegood—1****st**** October**

**Blaise Zabini—8****th**** October**

**Susan Bones—29****th**** October**

**Dean Thomas—20****th**** November**

**Pansy Parkinson—26****th**** December**

**I know I haven't been concentrating much on the other characters, so I will focus on one or two of them this time. Originally I planned for there to be Draco/Hermione interaction for a little bit, but I got caught up writing the part for Harry and Luna, so unfortunately this will have to be pushed back to the next chapter. From now on, I think I'll indicate the date at the top of the chapter. Hope I haven't been too disappointing, and this chapter update came much quicker than usual, no?**

**I'm sorry if there are any Cho/Harry lovers out there, but this story does not have a nice Cho. In fact, it has a terrible heartbreaker Cho, so I'm sorry if any of you are offended, but I think this was one of the best ways to portray Luna. **

**Also, I've decided that my chapter titles may not always start with "Tales of…" anymore because sometimes I think that one word or another phrase might bring across the desired effect more effectively. So yup That's one change! Anyhow, hope you enjoy this new chapter!**

**Once again, Harry Potter and the characters belong to J.K Rowling and only the plot of this story belongs to me, (well apart from Candice Canole who is a random fictional character I made up who belongs to Slytherin).**

**Review Review Review Review please… *****puppy dog eyes*******

**Letters from Daddy (Part 1)**

_**6**__**th**__** September**_

Luna's POV:

Luna sat in the Great Hall for breakfast on the 6th of September. She was sitting at the Ravenclaw table, but she was sitting alone. Luna had always sat alone, since the start of second year. She didn't understand why her fellow housemates thought that her obsession with Nargles and Crumple-horned Snorkacks was a reason for them to stay away from her as though she was carrying a contagious disease. She thought that being a Ravenclaw meant that they would accept all sorts or people, even those who were a tad bit eccentric, like herself. In first year, they thought her obsession with these kind of "imaginary" creatures, as they had so nicely put it, was cute, but when second year came, all it took was for one mean 6th year to tell her to grow up, and suddenly she was shunned by many of the girls. They didn't seem to understand her, and she likewise, did not really understand the way their minds worked either. Even though they were Ravenclaws, they were still girls, and they chased after Harry Potter, and swooned over Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini.

_Sure, _Luna agreed, _they are pretty handsome, but I'm not going to stalk them around school and flirt with them all day long, I have more important things to do. _When she had confronted the other girls like this, they had simply taunted her back, asking if the important things she needed to do involved going down to the lake and looking for some Wimpletons, _which, _Luna thought, _do not even exist, and here they are saying I'm the craziest girl in their house. Daddy has researched extensively on elusive magical creatures, and Wimpletons were most definitely a myth. If she went down the lake, she would be looking for Gulping Plimpies, and not Wimpletons._

She didn't understand why they stayed away from her and giggled behind her back, but soon, Luna learnt to do things alone all the time. She roamed the corridors alone, she walked to classes alone, and she always took the last empty seat in class. At night, she made sure to go to bed earlier than Cho and Marietta, and when she had to write a letter or contact her Daddy, she did it in the most secluded corners of the common room, away from prying eyes. She had finished her letter about the prophecy to her Daddy a few nights ago, before those two girls had come back. In fact, Luna wasn't even sure if they came back, or had just simply spent another night in a boy's room, as usual. Half the time, it was only Luna who was occupying the whole room, and she didn't mind. She could do what she liked in peace, without any jeering or name-calling.

She had always been special, and her Daddy had told her that her mum had been exactly like her. In second year during Christmas break, little Luna had gone home in tears after a boy had called her Loony Lovegood. She wasn't certain who it was, but it could have been Draco Malfoy. Her father had hugged her tight and whispered into her ear. His words echoed in her mind. _"Now my little plum fairy, remember this, and remember this well. Sticks and stones may break your bones but words will never hurt you," _she recited. From that time onwards, she didn't care what others thought of her. She dressed the way she liked, said what she wanted, and did what she liked to do. She was alone, yes, but she had made some friends during the War, namely the Golden Trio, Ginny, Neville and many in the DA. Frankly, though, she still suspected that Ron thought she was a little off her rocker. But that didn't matter. They treated her nicely, and Luna did the same to them, in her own dreamy way.

So now she was sitting at the corner of the table, concentrating on eating her breakfast when she heard the first screech of an owl. The post was here. Luna loved this part of the day. Dozens of owls would come streaming in through a hole in the walls of the Great Hall, and many of them would be carrying packages, letters, and sometimes newspapers. She had always found it intriguing how an owl could pick out the receiver of the mail out of a whole sea of faces. She watched as an owl with rather ruffled feathers flew in and dropped a parcel onto Ron's food. Everyone laughed as he grumbled about his lost breakfast, and Luna couldn't help but chuckle a little. An eagle owl soared in gracefully and dropped a letter into Draco's outstretched hands, and he pocketed it quickly.

She watched in anticipation as a whole flock of them flew in, hoping desperately that today, a reply from her Daddy would come after a few days' wait. Finally she spotted what she was searching for, an owl which had feathers that were streaked with blue and red, with a slightly confused look on its face. It hooted softly, flying amongst all the students before Luna called it with a soft, "Edintern." The owl picked up her voice easily and immediately flew over to her, knocking over several glasses of juice, including those of Cho's and Marietta's, before perching on her shoulder and handing her her letter and an issue of the Quibbler, nipping her ear affectionately and dipping it's beak into her goblet of juice. He stayed next to her, hooting when she stroked his feathers.

Luna placed her letter beside her plate lightly and decided to finish her breakfast before reading through the letter and his father's newest article in the Quibbler. She watched curiously as an owl, with a rather fierce look on its face, flew over to Draco Malfoy and dropped a letter onto his lap. Confused, she watched as he opened the letter cautiously, tearing open the red seal, before quickly scanning through the letter. He looked horrified, and quickly, he glanced around to make sure that no one had seen his expression. She averted her gaze quickly and focused on her scrambled eggs. A minute later, she heard the sound of a bench being pushed back and looked up to see him leaving the hall hurriedly. However, Cho and Marietta, who had stormed over to her in their slightly stained clothes, soon blocked her view. Luna, always the polite one, looked up at their enraged faces and greeted them nicely.

"Hello Cho, Marietta, isn't it a beautiful day? Oh dear, I see a few angry Slimblejacks next to your head. They must be making you very angry inside. Don't let them get to you, simply dunk your head in a tub of cold water and hold it there for 15 seconds and they'll evaporate. A shower helps too," she supplied helpfully, a little concerned at both her roomates, who looked like they were going to murder the next unsuspecting soul who irked them.

"OH MY GOD YOU HAVE GOT TO BE THE CRAZIEST, MOST INFURIARTING PERSON I KNOW LOONY LOVEGOOD. WILL YOU SHUT UP ABOUT YOU AND YOUR CRAZY BELIEFS AND LISTEN FOR ONCE? THESE THINGS, SLIMBLEWABBERS, WHATEVER, THEY DON'T EXIST. YOUR RUDDY OLD OWL SPILT JUICE ON MY SHIRT, AND THIS SHIRT COSTS 50 GALLEONS AND IT'S BY A VERY POPULAR FASHION DESIGNER, NOT THAT YOU WOULD KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT FASHION THOUGH," Cho screamed, giving her dressing a look of disdain.

"Yeah, Loony, why don't you go back to your hut and live with that crazy person you call," she air quoted with a sarcastic bite, "**daddy**," Marietta sneered, backing up her best friend.

"Yeah, Lovegood, you're gonna pay for this," Cho practically snarled at her, then abruptly her expression changed to an evil smirk, "Oh wait, Mari, why are we punishing her when she isn't the one who stained our clothes? It's her stupid owl who knocked down the goblets anyway, she'll pay for it!"

Cho reached out for Edintern and the owl, alarmed, hopped back a few steps out of reach.

"COME HERE YOU DAMN UGLY OWL!" She yelled reaching out for the elusive owl.

Luna had to admit she was a little frightened at Cho and Marietta's ferocity. She didn't know Slimblejacks could be that influencing, but Daddy had taught her all about how to deal with them, so that's exactly what she did. She stepped in front of Edintern, waving him off first before quickly conjuring two buckets of ice cold water and dumping it onto Cho and Marietta's heads.

They shrieked indignantly and parted their sopping wet hair. By now, the trio had attracted a whole crowd of onlookers and some of them were cheering for her, particularly a few of the Gryffindors. The rest, mainly the male population of Ravenclaw, were jeering at her and a few of them, concerned, had run up to them and tried to wring the water out of Cho and Marietta's hair.

"WHY YOU LITTLE BITCH, HOW DARE YOU DUMP COLD WATER ONTO OUR HAIR? NOW IT'S GOING TO TAKE ME FOREVER TO GET THE SILKINESS BACK, NOT TO MENTION I COULD ACTUALLY GET A COLD FROM THIS!"

Cho looked up at her, growling, and leaned forward to presumably sock her in the face. Luna didn't have any space to back into, and she cringed and mentally prepared herself for the blow. At the last second, she closed her eyes and yelled for her Daddy. Her Daddy was the only person who could take away the pain when she was hurt. Luna would give anything for her Daddy to be here protecting her now. It was unnecessary though, because the blow never came.

She opened her eyes a miniscule amount and saw a hand grabbing onto the wrist of Cho. That person was none other than Harry Potter, and Luna felt her heart leap as she saw that he had defended her. Immediately, Cho wrenched her wrist away and smoothed her shirt out, twirled her hair with her index finger, trying to flirt with Harry, but everyone could see how that was working. Harry remained as stoic as ever, his eyes still flashing with anger.

"Hey, Harry, I…"

"Shut your mouth **Chang**," he spat out, "do not on any occasion, ever, call Luna Loony again, or you'll have me to answer to. She is free to believe whatever she wants to, it's a free country, so don't you let me catch you blaming her again for an unfortunate accident that was entirely out of her control."

Harry seemed to be getting really angry, and everyone gasped as the candles in the Great Hall flickered slightly.

"But Harry," Cho pouted, still trying to appeal to the hormonal side of the boy, "she is out to get us just because we don't believe the same insane things that she does."

"Cho Chang, I don't know what I saw in you back in 4th year. You are just a lowly girl, who goes around spreading your legs for everyone. Luna is not out to get you, she's simply sticking to herself because none of you people are willing to look past her quirky behaviour and try to understand her. If there's anyone out to get her, it's the both of you, and you should be ashamed, not trying to flirt with me," he admonished her, eliciting gasps from the onlookers.

The candles were flickering more constantly now, and she could feel the raw bursts of magical energy. Harry was really angry at Cho, and Luna felt pleased that he was getting infuriated while defending her.

Luna, who was currently positioned behind Harry, saw a glimpse of what seemed like a tattoo under the sleeve of his robe when he raised his left hand up while he was talking. She gasped and squinted, trying to get a better look at it, but his arm had fallen again, and the sleeve of his robe covered it again. She could see Ron, the ever faithful friend, beside Harry looking out for his best friend, while the other third of the trio was standing beside her, pulling on Harry's shoulders and muttering, "That's quite enough, Harry."

The magic slowly calmed down, and the candles stopped flickering.

Some amongst the audience were now nodding, and some of the boys were pumping their fists in the air agreeing with what Harry had just said. No doubt these were the boys who had bedded either Cho or Marietta, and might have felt something for them, only to see them frolick from boy to boy. Harry backed down immediately from his best friend's words, but Cho wasn't quite ready to give up.

"WHY YOU…"

"That's quite enough don't you think, Miss Chang?"

The voice of the Headmistress quickly dispersed the onlookers as they shuffled away, going about their own business, but no doubt talking about what had just happened.

"You've taken this too far Miss Chang and Miss Edgecombe, 50 points each from Ravenclaw for picking on your own housemate, and a month of detentions with Mr Filch. Shameless behaviour the two of you. The war is over and the Wizarding World is in disarray. You girls, being the oldest in the school, should know better than to ignore the Sorting Hat's warnings, but you blatantly did so. We hope to achieve inter-house unity between all students, but I see it is not possible for you to even be friendly to the members of your own house," she remarked.

Professor McGonagall was one of Luna's favourite professors. That woman had a backbone, and she was extremely humorous at times even though she didn't know it. She was often underestimated because of her age, but she had become one of the people Luna respected the most apart from Daddy. She had a kind of air about her, which Luna liked to call "McGonagall-ness", and she exuded it in every single reprimand, every single lecture she gave, including the one she just gave the two girls.

"10 points from Ravenclaw for dumping water on your housemates' heads. However firmly you believe in these creatures, Miss Lovegood, and whatever method you believe should be used, should be kept strictly non-physical. You are free to believe what you must, Miss Lovegood, and I assure you that it makes me proud seeing you hold your own, but this will not be tolerated again, do you understand, Miss Lovegood?"

"Yes, Professor." Luna replied

"And finally you, Mr Potter, 20 points from Gryffindor for your atrocious use of language about Miss Chang. However true it may be, do try to keep these words to a minimum. There are younger ears present in our midst. 10 points to Gryffindor for standing up to a friend though," the Headmistress smiled at Harry, and Harry boldly smirked back.

Cho was spluttering with rage, and Luna honestly found it very amusing. The Headmistress escorted the both of them out and when they had left, Luna found herself retrieving her letter and this month's issue of the Quibbler from the table and tucking it into her pocket.

"Here, why don't you guys go ahead, Hermione, Ron, I'll meet you back in the common room later on, I'll just escort Luna to her dormitory and then I'll be right back. I mean…uh…if that's okay with you…uh…Luna?" Harry stumbled over his words at the last part.

Luna found it kind of cute that Harry was uncomfortable and feeling a little awkward. She blushed slightly and nodded her head in response, ducking it slightly, causing her hair to sweep forward and cover her face. Her face hidden behind her wavy blonde hair, Luna smiled. _This was turning out to be one of the best days of her life. _

Harry's POV:

Harry had heard a shriek from the Ravenclaw table and lazily turned his head around to the direction of the commotion. He nearly choked from laughter and had to control himself to prevent himself from spewing all his scrambled eggs out of his mouth. A wacky looking owl had knocked over the goblet of juice in front of Cho and Marietta, and the both of them had gotten slightly wet from this. Harry never really fancied Cho anymore after that short period in 4th year, because he realised that Cho never really cared about him at all and was going after him because he was The Chose One. When Harry had found her snogging Terry Boot, she had tried to explain that she had simply tripped and fell on him by accident. _What a load of bull, _Harry scoffed.

After that, Harry no longer felt any more pity for Cho, even when Hermione reported that she had seen her crying on numerous occasions over Cedric, but Harry wasn't even sure now if they were just crocodile tears. So Harry had immediately broken up with Cho and went with Ginny, but now, he was left with no one. He shook his head, dispelling the lonely thoughts from his head and concentrated on the strange looking owl. It flew over to Luna, and Harry honestly wasn't surprised. Luna was strange, but Harry had learnt to accept this about her and he even found it quite cute. She believed so passionately about things that others thought to be stupid, and this was what Harry admired about her. She was not afraid to be different from the rest of her housemates, even though most of them were slightly eccentric, and when everybody shunned her, she still continued to be herself.

Harry watched closely as Luna received the letter from the owl with gentle hands and stroked it. This was the only owl that stayed with its owner even after delivering their load, and Harry was amazed to see that this owl got along vey well with its owner, and the relationship that Luna had with her owl was as loving as the one that Harry and Hedwig had. _Hedwig…_Harry thought sadly. That owl had been his only companion when he went back to the muggle world and it had died saving him from a curse sent to him by one of the Death Eaters. Hedwig had been his best friend, and she had perished alongside countless others in the struggle against Voldemort. Harry had mourned her for a very long time, refusing to get another owl, but finally when it became necessary for him to have an owl to deliver letters to his friends, he had grudgingly followed the Weasley family and had bought a new familiar, a white owl that looked somewhat like Hedwig, but it had a single black feather on it's back. In honour of Hedwig, Harry had named her Hestia, after the Greek goddess of hearth.

Hestia was beautiful, and she was also sweet-tempered. Harry was beginning to develop a closer bond with her, but he doubted that they would ever experience the same closeness that Harry and Hedwig had, purely because the former duo had gone through so much together, with all the danger and the peril and being locked inside the same room for a long time. These were things that Harry and his new companion would never go through, and the thought of Hedwig made him extremely sad, but also proud of his late best friend.

Harry concentrated now on Luna, who was being confronted by Cho and Marietta. She was positively radiant, still addressing them politely and adding in the names of a few mystical creatures that she believed in into the conversation, and Harry thought that she looked so cute, dreamily staring off into the spaces beside the two girls' heads. He blushed slightly at that thought, and then sniggered as Cho and Marietta looked at her with death glares but the pretty blonde still seemed oblivious to their anger.

"OH MY GOD YOU HAVE GOT TO BE THE CRAZIEST, MOST INFURIARTING PERSON I KNOW LOONY LOVEGOOD. WILL YOU SHUT UP ABOUT YOU AND YOUR CRAZY BELIEFS AND LISTEN FOR ONCE? THESE THINGS, SLIMBLEWABBERS, WHATEVER, THEY DON'T EXIST. YOUR RUDDY OLD OWL SPILT JUICE ON MY SHIRT, AND THIS SHIRT COSTS 50 GALLEONS AND IT'S BY A VERY POPULAR FASHION DESIGNER, NOT THAT YOU WOULD KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT FASHION THOUGH," Cho screamed, startling everyone in the Great Hall.

Heads whipped up to stare at the three girls, but no one moved to interfere. Harry was slightly out of his seat now, wanting to go to Luna's aid, but at the same time he was afraid that people would start judging him and taunting him about being in love with Luna. Harry felt a rush of pride for Luna as she protected her owl from the infuriated witches and then promptly dumped cold water onto their heads. She then conjured up the excuse of giving them the cure to what was it….Slimblejacks? Harry didn't know if she was purposefully trying to sound innocent, or if she was actually really concerned about these Slimblejacks that only she could see. He jeered with the other Gryffindors as a few Ravenclaw boys went up behind Chang and Edgecombe and proceeded to wring the water out of their hair.

Cho was still screaming, and the pitch of her voice was steadily climbing higher with each word she said. The whole hall was unashamedly staring at her now.

"WHY YOU LITTLE BITCH, HOW DARE YOU DUMP COLD WATER ONTO OUR HAIR? NOW IT'S GOING TO TAKE ME FOREVER TO GET THE SILKINESS BACK, NOT TO MENTION I COULD ACTUALLY GET A COLD FROM THIS!"

Before she had finished half of her rant, Harry was already up and out of his seat and striding quickly towards the Ravenclaw table, ignoring the protests from Ron and the warning from Hermione that he could get hurt. He couldn't care less at the moment; he just wanted to make sure that those two bitches didn't harm Luna. He was feeling extremely protective of the eccentric blonde all of a sudden. He squeezed through the throng of people that had gathered around the trio and stood directly in front of the scene, his two best friends behind him, guarding his back as usual. He didn't move to interfere yet, not sure how to diffuse this situation without a proper excuse.

But his opportunity for an excuse quickly came, as Cho reached out presumably to strike Luna in her face. Luna looked scared, and she was backed into the corner of the circle of people, with nowhere to run. As Cho's fist was about to land into Luna's face, Luna let out a cry, shouting for her dad, and Harry's heart twinged slightly. He didn't like the look of pain on her face, and so to prevent anything undesirable from happening, he stepped out quickly and with seeker-like reflexes, he reached out to grab onto the fast descending wrist of Cho's.

Immediately, Cho wrenched her wrist away and smoothed her shirt out, twirled her hair with her index finger, trying to flirt with Harry, but everyone could see how that was working. Harry remained as stoic as ever, his eyes still flashing with anger. _Honestly, _Harry thought in his head, _what a bitch. She still has the audacity to flirt with me? Can this girl flirt anytime of the day on any occasion? I don't even know how she got into Ravenclaw. Cho has less brains than Goyle._

"Hey, Harry, I…"

"Shut your mouth **Chang**," he spat out, extremely irritated at the black-haired girl in front of him. "Do not on any occasion, ever, call Luna Loony again, or you'll have me to answer to. She is free to believe whatever she wants to, it's a free country, so don't you let me catch you blaming her again for an unfortunate accident that was entirely out of her control."

Harry was getting incredibly worked up as he thought about how easily Luna could have gotten hurt if he hadn't interfered, and everyone knew that Luna wouldn't raise a hand to harm anyone, or anything, and Cho had taken advantage of that. He could feel raw energy pulsing through his veins and as the seconds past, he felt angry at himself for not having interfered sooner, and everyone gasped as the candles in the Great Hall flickered slightly.

"But Harry," Cho pouted, still trying to appeal to him, "she is out to get us just because we don't believe the same insane things that she does."

"Cho Chang, I don't know what I saw in you back in 4th year. You are just a lowly girl, who goes around spreading your legs for everyone. Luna is not out to get you, she's simply sticking to herself because none of you people are willing to look past her quirky behaviour and try to understand her. If there's anyone out to get her, it's the both of you, and you should be ashamed, not trying to flirt with me," he admonished her, eliciting gasps from the onlookers.

_GOD, THIS GIRL IS SO FUCKING THICK UGH, _Harry screamed inside his mind. The candles were flickering more constantly now, and he could feel the raw bursts of magical energy. Harry was really extremely frustrated at Cho for even thinking about harming Luna, and even more pissed off at Cho for misunderstanding the sweet quirky Luna Lovegood. The raw magical energy got even stronger, and Harry could feel that he was beginning to whip up a strong wind in the middle of the hall.

He could see Ron, the ever faithful friend, beside him, looking out for him as always, while the other third of the trio was standing beside her, pulling on Harry's shoulders and muttering, "That's quite enough, Harry."

Harry took deep breaths, emptying his mind of Cho and Marietta and focused instead on Luna. _Come on Harry, think… her smile, her touch, her concern. _The magic slowly calmed down, and the candles stopped flickering.

Cho wasn't quite ready to give up, though, and Harry felt like cursing the Asian girl in front of him until she resembled a pink fluffy rabbit with teeth that grew to the floor.

"WHY YOU…"

"That's quite enough don't you think, Miss Chang?" Professor McGonagall's voice floated from behind them.

Harry had never felt more grateful towards Professor McGonagall. _Thank goodness she interfered, _thought Harry, _or else I might have had to hit a girl. She really gets on my nerves, and she clearly doesn't know when to back down from an argument that she won't win. _

The crowd parted like the sea, and there was a path created for the headmistress to walk through. The onlookers scuttled away as quickly as they came, going about their own business but no doubt whispering in hushed tones about what had just transpired.

"You've taken this too far Miss Chang and Miss Edgecombe, 50 points each from Ravenclaw for picking on your own housemate, and a month of detentions with Mr Filch. Shameless behaviour the two of you. The war is over and the Wizarding World is in disarray. You girls, being the oldest in the school, should know better than to ignore the Sorting Hat's warnings, but you blatantly did so. We hope to achieve inter-house unity between all students, but I see it is not possible for you to even be friendly to the members of your own house," she remarked.

Harry felt a sudden rush of pride for the old woman. She certainly knew how to hold her own even though both Cho and Marietta were giving her extremely withering glares. If the Headmistress were your average 70 year-old woman, then she would probably be cowering away in fear, but she was not. She was Minerva McGonagall, Headmistress of Hogwarts, and Transfiguration Professor in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

"10 points from Ravenclaw for dumping water on your housemates' heads. However firmly you believe in these creatures, Miss Lovegood, and whatever method you believe should be used, should be kept strictly non-physical. You are free to believe what you must, Miss Lovegood, and I assure you that it makes me proud seeing you hold your own, but this will not be tolerated again, do you understand, Miss Lovegood?"

"Yes, Professor." Luna replied

"And finally you, Mr Potter, 20 points from Gryffindor for your atrocious use of language about Miss Chang. However true it may be, do try to keep these words to a minimum. There are younger ears present in our midst. 10 points to Gryffindor for standing up to a friend though," the Headmistress smiled at Harry, and Harry boldly smirked back.

Cho was spluttering with rage, and Harry honestly found it very amusing. The Headmistress escorted the both of them out and when they had left, Harry turned to observe Luna, finding her to be retrieving her letter and the Quibbler from the table and tucking it into her pocket.

"Here, why don't you guys go ahead, Hermione, Ron, I'll meet you back in the common room later on, I'll just escort Luna to her dormitory and then I'll be right back. I mean…uh…if that's okay with you…uh…Luna?" Harry stumbled over his words at the last part, flushing a deep red.

He was afraid Luna was going to tease him about being so embarrassed in front of her, and he was honestly wondering if Luna was going to claim that he had awkward turtles floating around his head, but was extremely grateful that she did not. At least he wouldn't have to face the embarrassment that he had just screwed up in front of a girl, and not just any girl, but the girl he had been eyeing for quite a few months now, but up till now, he had been too afraid to approach her, but this presented him with the perfect opportunity to get to know her better, and maybe if he had the guts, to ask her out to the next Hogsmeade trip that was coming up this weekend.

Harry saw that she blushed slightly and nodded her head in response, ducking it slightly, causing her hair to sweep forward and cover her face. Harry immediately felt a sense of relief sweep through him at not having been outright rejected in front of his best mates, and he was grateful to them as they pat him slightly on the back and left, but not before Ron whispered in his ear, "Good luck mate, go snag that girl."

He slapped Ron on the back of his head lightly while blushing, praying to all the Gods above that Luna hadn't heard what Ron had said. But Ron's Chaser reflexes caused him to duck out of the way and dodge quickly when Harry reached out to grab him. Both him and Hermione ran out of the hall, laughing as Ron recounted what he had said to Harry.

Luna was looking at him now expectantly, but Harry didn't really know what to say, so he just stood around awkwardly and when a sentence eventually came into his mind that wasn't about the weather, he blurted it out without really thinking.

"So…Luna…uh…what's in that letter?"

After realising what he said and then remembering she hadn't even had the chance to open her letter, he mentally smacked himself in the head a few times. _Stupid, stupid, stupid. _He sneaked a glance at Luna and was relieved to see that she didn't look at him oddly, only started to twirl around in that sweet and uncaring manner of hers, and then her misty voice spoke out and she smiled, making Harry feel this warm fuzzy feeling to spread within him.

"Oh Harry I haven't had the chance to read it yet, since the Slimblejacks were hovering around Cho and Marietta, and that caused a little bit of episode don't you think? But I suppose we could go back into the common room and check it out together, if you're so curious about it?" Luna smiled dreamily.

"Sure…I mean….uh…I'm not that curious…but I…uh…yeah sure why not? I suppose we could…uh…go back to your common room and check that letter out together….I mean…I am quite curious…I mean….ugh. Let's just go back to the common room, shall we? Then perhaps you would be so kind to tell me about that little owl of yours? You two seem to have quite a bit of a friendship," Harry stated.

He wanted to go to a nearby wall and slam his head into it until some sense of coherency was knocked into his brain, but he would do that later. _At least I recovered at the end,_ thought Harry, _if not it would have been bloody embarrassing if I couldn't have even managed to get through a single conversation with her without stuttering. __**But she's so dreamy and it's so cute when she's talking about one of her imaginary creatures, **_reasoned the other side of Harry. _Oh get your grip together mate, if you're going to ask her out, you need more guts, and how do you expect to be her girlfriend if you can't even talk to her without looking like a bloody fool? _

Luna was looking at him a little curiously, but she soon snapped back into her dreamy mode and she motioned to Harry to follow her before flitting out of the room in her fur boots, which she wore even though it wasn't even cold out yet. Harry followed her apprehensively, watching as she hummed to herself and danced from one side of the corridor to another, and then finally forced himself to relax as she fell into step beside him.

"So, Harry, I never really did thank you for saving my hide back there. Thank you for not letting the Slimblejack-infested Cho and Marietta from attacking me. It would have been horrible. You know, I really thought the cold water would have gotten rid of them, but evidently, they have evolved and seem to get even more powerful with the presence of cold water. Slimblejacks are highly contagious, you know, they start to infect the other person that the enraged person comes into physical contact with. Luckily, you seemed to be immune to them. Maybe I'll get Daddy to examine you the next time you two meet so that he will be able to discover what exactly it is that helps you fend off this nasty little buggers," she whispered into his ear, making him giggle slightly.

"You're welcome Luna," Harry said softly, not knowing what else he could say about the Slimblejack creatures that he was supposedly immune to.

Harry mustered up the courage when he saw Luna prancing around delightfully. She was so carefree, and happy, that Harry himself felt a rush of happiness when he watched her frolick around the corridors. He swore that when they had gone into the Forbidden Forest in their third year to get the Thestrals, she made the whole place seem less scary, and much more lively. Even the sound of birds came, and the trees seemed to straighten up slightly, and were no longer so droopy. The Thestrals had come to her so calmly, and she had had no trouble at all getting onto one, unlike Neville and Ginny, who had required some help to mount the creature. Harry wanted nothing more than to know this girl better, and the only way he could find out if they were fit to be in a romantic relationship was to take the first step, to ask her out.

He took a deep breath, running through a few smooth sentences in his head until he deemed himself able to coherently voice them out. It was now or never, and Harry had to do it immediately before he chickened out, and Harry knew he would regret if he didn't ask her now, and had to wait for the next available opportunity to get her alone with im to ask her. He was trembling slightly, and he had to clench his fists tightly to prevent them from shaking violently. He was terrified of rejection, but Harry knew Luna, and if she rejected him, she would do it nicely, and would not be so direct. _Damn, _Harry cursed, _where's your bloody Gryffindor courage now? _His voice had gone dry, and he had to clear his throat and swallow several times to render him able to speak.

_Come on Harry, deep breaths, _he told himself, _you can do this. _

"Listen, um…Luna. Look I know this sounds really weird, and this is really not the right time, but ?" His words came out in a mush, nothing like how he had practiced and envisioned it to happen in his mind.

Luna swiveled around to look him in his eyes, and Harry felt himself getting totally lost in their silvery grey depths. They were so mesmerizing, and they were filled with so much emotion; curious, and if Harry had really read her correctly, like he had hoped, then he saw love. He was so lost in them that he failed to react when she asked him a question, and only realised she had when she waved a hand in front of his face.

"Earth to Harry?" Luna looked slightly worried when he didn't immediately respond.

He sheepishly tore his gaze away from concerned eyes, and quickly tried to calm his heartbeat, which had involuntarily sped up without him knowing when he had been staring into her beautiful eyes.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" Harry cast his eyes downwards, not meeting hers, which were sure to be filled with curiosity. He had to look at her to find out her answer though, so he dragged his line of sight up until it met her angelic face.

"Oh no matter, I usually do that a lot too, just get lost in my own daydream and wander about in my own mind. It's quite relaxing really," she stated matter-of-factly, "I simply asked you what you said since the Warbling Wizzles seemed to have impaired your speech so everything came out in a mush."

Harry turned bright red.

"I…uh…uh…," he stated dumbly as she continued to stare at him, then he gathered up every ounce of courage he had and articulated his words clearly, "I was wondering, Luna, if you would care to come with me to Hogsmeade this weekend as my date?"

The words came out a little too quickly still but Harry wanted to pump his fists into the air at the thought of having managed to finally deliver a single sentence coherently without stuttering. He was a little worried about her reaction now though, and when she opened her mouth almost immediately to answer him, he thought, _oh god Harry here we go this is your first rejection play it cool oh my god she's not even going to consider you oh my god you are going to look like the stupidest boy in the entire school oh my god oh my god okay breathe Harry breathe. _

"Sure."

Harry rushed into his next sentence without much thought, too flustered at having been rejected outright to think rationally.

"Look Luna I'm sorry crap I knew this was a bad idea oh my god what was I thinking I am so…wait what?" Harry asked as his common sense flooded back into his brain again.

"Did you say…" he looked at Luna stupidly for what seemed like the second time today, and he watched as her face lit up with an amused smile.

Luna nodded her head and Harry felt joy flood into his bloodstream and he felt so happy that he could pick Luna up and twirl her around in his arms again and again and again, but it didn't feel too appropriate so he fought the urge to do that. Luna was smirking at him now and Harry knew that he had a stupid goofy smile on is face right now, but he couldn't help it. He was too happy. He found that the both of them had arrived at the Ravenclaw entrance and the brass knocker was directly facing them. He wasn't sure if Luna would chase him away now, but it seemed she had no intention of that and instead grabbed hold of the knocker and knocked three times.

"Come Harry," she said softly, "let's work on answering this question together, and then, we can go up to my room and we can look at the letter that my Daddy sent me if the Common room is too crowded.

He nodded at her, lingering his gaze at her hair that was reflecting the sunlight. He so desperately wanted to reach out and touch her hair, but he knew they weren't at that stage of their relationship yet, so he restrained himself, but allowed himself the pleasure of looking at her, when he was abruptly startled by the knocker that now started to speak to them. Sure, he had encountered this enchanted door-knocker back during the war when they had been searching for the diadem of Ravenclaw, but it still surprised him.

"I am life's greatest joy. You can find me in the most unlikely of places, from the most unlikely of people. I cannot be lost, not even when I am thwarted by war and death. What am I?"

He concentrated on the question at hand, though he inevitably still found his gaze drawn to the girl beside him, and how cute she looked when she was deep in thought. _Life's greatest joy, _he thought, _money, maybe? _He snickered as he thought of what Ron might answer with. His greatest pleasure - food. But this was not the answer. Food cannot be found from people.

Luna beat him to finding the answer, evidently, as she piped up from beside him.

"Oh I think I've got it. You are true love."

"Very bright, my child. You are right, I am true love. You can find me in different people, your friends, your family, and maybe even the boy standing next to you. Love prevails even in the darkest of times, and some instances of love are so strong, that they can even transcend time. You have answered correctly, and you and your friend may pass."

The brass knocker disappeared to reveal a door, and both Harry and Luna stepped inside before the wall behind them sealed shut again. Harry was still staring dumbfoundedly at Luna, who seemed to think nothing of the question that the knocker had asked, and the answer to it. She just traipsed into the common room like nothing happened. Harry, however, lingered near the doorway, just thinking about all the possibilities, and blushed slightly when he recalled that the knocker had stated that Luna could find love from him.

"Are you coming, Harry?" Luna asked, a few steps away from him.

A quick glance around the common room and he knew that this place was too crowded for Luna to open her letter from her Daddy, as it might cause unwanted and unpleasant attention. He stepped forward quickly to Luna's side, and as they headed for the stairs, Harry's thoughts was still whirling.

_True love, yeah, I'd like that, _he thought, and he chanced a glance at the pretty Ravenclaw beside him, walking beside him comfortably, _very much indeed. _

**Whoa this chapter was a lot longer than what I'd intended, so this chapter will have 2 parts. I just simply love writing about Harry and Luna, they're so cute:D So what do you guys think. Review please!**


	15. Letters from Daddy Part 2

**Author's Note:**

**Writing Harry and Luna has proved to be a challenge because it's hard to twist Harry back to the kid he always is with Luna being so dreamy and all But I suppose he will get more comfortable and less jittery over time! **

**Originally I planned for the letter to be revealed in the previous chapter, but I love writing in detail so well…I didn't want the chapter to be too lengthy and difficult to read, so the bit of draco x Hermione interaction I wanted to put in and the contents of the letter will be revealed in this one.**

**Thanks to Shadow werewolf54 and Parvati48 for reviewing:D It's much appreciated and I love it when I go to my inbox and see notifications telling me I have a new follower on the story or better yet…a new review! **

**Sorry for any confusion regarding the title. I just thought it would be more appropriate for this story, and you guys might see why in a few chapters heehee. The story name has a double meaning(: **

**Once again, I don't own any of the Harry Potter characters. All credits go to J.K Rowling who unbelievably thought a lot of this out on a train. **

**Please please please please review it would mean the world to me thank you:)**

**Letters from Daddy (part 2)**

_**6**__**th**__** September**_

Harry's POV:

Harry walked steadily beside Luna as the both of them made their way across the common room towards the stairs that led to the dormitories. Their presence drew quite a few whispers from the other Ravenclaws who were scattered around the room, though many of them looked back down to their books or continued their conversations when Harry met their gaze evenly. Thankfully, the two nasty girls were not there yet, and so they could proceed without much interruption. Luna seemed unaware of everyone staring at her though, and she continued on her way without any discomfort. Harry could tell many pairs of eyes still followed their movements and was relieved when they finally reached the stairs. _Just a few more steps and no one will be openly gaping at you anymore, _he thought to himself.

The pair had stopped in front of the winding staircase leading up to the girls' dormitories, and Harry knew that he would have to hold hands with Luna in order for him to get up to her dormitory without sliding down the stairs. The stairs in Hogwarts were really tricky when it came to girls' privacy, and no boy could get up the stairs alone without promptly sliding down an extremely slippery slide if they tried. Harry and Ron had learnt this the hard way, when they had tried to go looking for Hermione, and he really didn't want to repeat the experience. Luna made to go up the stairs, but Harry stopped hesitantly at the foot of the stairs. He didn't know if the stairs for all the different houses were the same, but Hermione had said something about it being in Hogwarts: A History and so right now he didn't follow Luna up the stairs. Hermione, after all, was almost always right.

Luna seemed to realise that he wasn't following and stopped at the second step, pausing and looking at him questioningly.

"Eh Luna…I can't go up the stairs with you because boys are not allowed up unless I am uh…holding hands with you..." he said, trailing off uncertainly and blushing slightly.

"Oh Harry I'm so sorry, the Nargles must have completely addled my brain. I completely forgot about that. No matter, here," she said, bounding down the steps and then taking his hand into hers.

The effect was immediate. A warm feeling filled Harry to the brim and he felt so happy that he could just burst with joy. There was a strange tingling in his veins and he could feel the heat shoot up from the bottom of his feet all the way to the top of his head. Apparently Luna felt it too, because she pulled her arm back and lifted the sleeve of her robe up, revealing the identical tattoo that lay on her forearm. Harry gasped and in turn revealed his own, but only after making sure that no one else was able to see them. Then Luna brought her forearm closer to his, and placed her tattoo directly onto his. Another jolt ran through them both, but this time it was more powerful than the last. Then a wispy image appeared above both of their forearms. A lion and an eagle. It depicted the view of a meadow full of dandelions, where a lion lay in the tall grass and the eagle circled above it. The eagle occasionally would nip at the lion's mane affectionately before taking off quickly, not allowing the lion to paw at it. It wasn't so much as fighting, since the lion's actions were weak, and his swipes were done playfully and half-heartedly.

Luna hadn't seemed to find the presence of his tattoo weird at all, and he planned on asking her why this hadn't surprised her. She seemed shocked, though, when the image appeared, and she studied it in fascination, before realising that they risked the chance of getting seen by the other Ravenclaws. She grabbed his right hand with her left, making their arms twist weirdly together since Luna was on his left, and they ran awkwardly together up the stairs. There were a couple of girls who walked down the stairs but Luna quickly ran over to Harry's other side so it didn't seem too strange that they were trying to hide something. The five girls stared at Harry and Luna's joint hands with their mouth agape but they didn't say anything in front of the two of them. They hurried down the stairs however, and in a few seconds Harry could hear the common room abuzz with activity. No doubt the five girls had told the rest of their housemates, and by tomorrow, Harry could guarantee that the whole school would know of Luna to be his girlfriend, but to be honest, he didn't mind it one bit.

They ran up the steps two at a time, and quickly reached Luna's dormitory. They pushed the door open and stepped quickly into it. Harry quickly turned around and cast various charms around the room so that no one would be able to enter it or hear what they were speaking about. It was one of the benefits being around the smartest witch of her age. You learn all the spells that you might need in your entire life. After Harry had finished putting up the last of the spells to keep up unwanted eavesdroppers, he turned around to find Luna sitting on the chair in front of her desk, reading the letter from her father. It seemed like she had forgotten about what had happened with their tattoos, but he supposed that she really loved her father for her to put the letter first.

Harry walked over to her and leant over her shoulder to read the words that the letter contained. Then he thought that maybe it would seem rude since he wasn't sure if this letter was extremely private. So he pushed his curiosity to the back of his brain and settled instead to reading the unrolling the Quibbler that was currently sitting on the desk in front of Luna. The headlines screamed at him, printed in bold and in font size 36, and he would be crazy if he didn't notice it.

"**Population boom of Fortune-telling Kenoberoses!"**

Harry chuckled softly. It seemed like Mr Lovegood was the same as always and he was still reporting mystical sightings of creatures that only he and Luna seemed to see. Harry never understood how they could firmly believe in these creatures when it seemed like even they themselves couldn't see it. The following words made him gulp though, when he saw what was printed on the front page.

**A large horde of fortune-telling Kenoberoses were spotted in Hogwarts School of WitchCraft and Wizardry, foretelling a prophecy about what could possibly lead to another Wizarding war. My lovely daughter Luna has told me all about it. At the starting feast of Hogwarts, the Sorting Hat had made an unnerving prediction to this prophecy (no doubt the Kenoberoses had addled it's head), and following that, the charming Professor Trelawney had delivered yet another prophecy, but this time to the very ears of the whole school population. **

**It seems like everyone who is involved in this prophecy has been branded with a tattoo, and my beautiful little girl has one on her left forearm of a creature resembling a lion and an eagle. My little darling has also informed me of the possible people in the prophecy, and I can say that there are a few surprises in this one. The names of these people will be published in the next issue of the Quibbler.**

**In the meantime, everyone, please do pay close attention to your pumpkins and kernels! The Kenoberoses are particularly fond of them and you might find that your crops are missing a few chunks. These are not the works of birds but rather of hordes of Kenoberoses. The harvest of the whole of London is at stake. **

**-Xenophilius Lovegood, editor of the Quibbler**

Harry nearly sighed loudly in relief that the names weren't put into the article, since it would prove to be extremely easy for the dark wizards or witches, or anyone who was stirring up trouble again, to get ahold of their names and finish them off easily. He thanked his lucky stars that the Quibbler wasn't a wizard newspaper that most would read, or even subscribe to, but it couldn't hurt to be careful. If there was one thing that Harry had learnt from fighting Voldemort, it was that you could never fully anticipate the ingenious plans of the evil. They were bad yes, but extremely conniving.

He turned to tell Luna about the article and the potential dangers of it, but she was sitting and staring dazedly out the window, the letter she had read was lying in front of her.

"Uh…Luna?" Harry asked, waving his hand in front of her eyes.

Curiosity got the better of him, and he hesitantly asked, "Luna, can I read this?"

He got a small nod, but Luna's gaze didn't seem to leave the spot that she was staring at, and Harry followed her gaze to find it landing upon the Forbidden Forest. He didn't know what she was thinking about, but he wanted badly to find out, and he picked up the thin sheet of parchment and sat down on her bed, propping up his glasses to the bridge of his nose and then starting to digest the words.

**My dear pumpkin,**

**Daddy is so proud that you are in this prophecy, and I'm sure that after everything you've told me in your previous letter, you're really excited to be finally part of all the action. Daddy is so proud of his little girl. You are finally growing up, and fighting against evil for a better cause, but Daddy can't help but be worried for his little girl. At the same time, though, my sweet little Snorlimp, I am excited for you. **

**You may not know much about your mother, Luna, but I know who she was, and what she was, and I think that with your 17****th**** birthday finally coming up, it is wise to tell you about your heritage. You see, our family has always been special, and you, my little pumpkin, possess extraordinary abilities. Your mother's blood runs through your veins, and Daddy has watched you grow up amidst all the taunting from the other children, and Daddy has always felt pain. Your mum however, did not want you to be informed about this until you were coming of age, so forgive Daddy.**

**My sweet Luna, have you ever felt like your mother was always with us? Every single time we were down by the stream collecting Freshwater Plimpies, every time we went to the forest to look for Nargles, I could always feel her presence, because she was always there. Your mother, my baby girl, was a Dryad, and so are you. She could commune with nature, all the living creatures on the earth, but she had a particularly strong affinity towards plants in general, which is why we live so close to the forest. That's another reason why we can see creatures others cannot. I have been gifted with this sight after bonding with your mother. **

**I honestly cannot tell you everything you need to know about Dryads, because although I myself married a beautiful one, their secrets are not for me to tell, not even to my own flesh and blood. I am sorry, dear girl, but I promise you that if you were to head down to the Dark Forest on your birthday at exactly midnight, perhaps the trees will be able to tell you more. Bring Harry with you, he seems to be a trustworthy person, and he is a sweet boy. I know your suspicions as to him being your other half, and honestly I couldn't be happier.**

**Until then, stay safe my sweet sweet Luna, may mummy always watch over you.**

**Love,**

**Daddy**

Harry dropped the letter beside him and lay down backwards onto her bed. His head was reeling from what he had read and he was not sure what to make out of it. A part of him was shocked that Luna was a Dryad, but another part of him had suspected she was special. Honestly though, he couldn't believe the creatures were really visible to Luna. He would need time to get used to this fact, but right now, he was silently cheering that Luna had told her dad about him.

He got up from the bed and walked over to Luna, gently placing the letter beside her and lightly dropping his hand onto her shoulder. Luna turned around abruptly and hugged him, and Harry awkwardly put his arms around her shoulders.

"I can't believe this, Harry, all this time, I've really been able to see these creatures because I'm a Dryad, and not because I was insane and my Daddy was just pretending to see them too so that I wouldn't feel different. Now, I know I am different, but in a good way. Harry, will you come with me to the Forbidden Forest on my birthday, which is 25 days from now, to find out more about myself? Perhaps the trees will be able to answer our questions about the tattoos and our connection, but as of now, I think we really are one couple, and I really hope that the trees will grant you the sight that I have, so that we can see the same things and experience the same things."

Harry grinned brightly.

"Of course I will Luna, I thought you'd never ask."

"One more thing though, Luna," Harry said solemnly, "I think it would be wise if your father stopped publishing things about this prophecy, especially not the names of the people you think might be involved in it. It's extremely dangerous if someone on the side of evil got their hands on it, and they might come after us. Your life is already in potential danger."

Luna cocked her head slightly to the right, and then nodded, frowning slightly. She promised to send a letter to her father immediately to stop him from publishing the next article with all the information she had told him. Harry felt slightly relieved, but couldn't shake off the terrible feeling of Luna being in danger.

The two sat in companionable silence for the rest of the time, chatting about their upcoming plans for the coming Hogsmeade weekend, and how to sneak out of the castle on the 1st of October. They finally settled on using Harry's invisibility cloak, and they would cast a charm such that no one could hear them if anything, or anyone, were to chance upon them. They would take down the charms after reaching the forest, and put them back up again when leaving.

Pretty soon, it was time for them to go to their classes, and Harry walked Luna to her Divination classroom before rushing down to the Potions Dungeon for his first class of the day.

**Meanwhile…**

Draco's POV:

Draco sat in the Slytherin table eating his breakfast silently with Pansy and Blaise. The two were more quiet than usual and he knew that they were still slightly disappointed and afraid of him after the behaviour he had displayed. They glanced at each other every few seconds and stared at him when they thought he wasn't looking, but when he lifted his head to meet their gaze, they quickly turned away and fixed their line of sight to their plates. Draco was soon growing tired of their behaviour, since he felt like he was being shunned. He would never openly admit it, but it hurt when people kept away from him, especially when these people were his best friends.

Draco had originally planned to tell them about his conversation with Hermione after breakfast, but he was getting extremely upset and a little annoyed at them treating him like an outcast. He sighed and put down his fork and knife at the 4 and 8 o'clock positions respectively, just as he had been taught since he was just a little boy.

"Look guys, I did the right thing, and I went to apologise to Hermione and all. Of course, with my luck, a rather inconvenient thing happened after my meeting with Severus and I discovered something really shocking and important, but that'll have to wait," he said glancing at the people around them who were surreptitiously trying to listen in.

He had caught their attention, and the both of them were now looking at him intently, but still a little skeptically. Draco took a deep breath. This was the hard part. He would have to apologise to his friends about being such a douche and yelling at Blaise and Pansy when obviously they were trying to help.

"Listen, I really did apologise to Hermione, and she even accepted it and we've decided to try to start over again. It wasn't easy, and I sounded like a pitiful idiot, but yes I really did. I'm sorry for being mean to the both of you, and I know I was wrong for trying to take my anger out on the both of you, although you have to understand, I was pretty much furious at all this stupid shit in my life," Draco ended off.

He stared at his friends, not embarrassed or anything. Even though he was a new man now, a little bit of the Malfoy streak was still embedded in him and he couldn't do anything about it. The need to defend himself was still present, and so he could never utter a complete apology that was extremely sincere. He could not afford not adding something to defend himself at the end.

"Really, Draco," Blaise spoke up, "you couldn't manage a decent apology even if it kills you? That was the shittiest apology I have ever heard," he stated grinning.

Draco grinned back and Pansy smiled tentatively at him. He felt like she was still a little scared of him after displaying a side that was suspiciously alike to Lucius', but it was a start. He knew Blaise forgave him. That was one thing Draco liked about the Italian. He was extremely easy going and unlike Draco, he was quick to forgive other people for their misdeeds. When Draco had become a follower for the Dark Lord and had the unfortunate mission thrust upon him, Blaise had kept his distance from him, and at that point of time, Draco had reassured himself that he had a lot more friends. But it was a lie, because many of the people throwing themselves at him were Slytherins who were firm pureblood believers, and they only wanted to get near to him so that they could have a chance to get into Voldemort's inner circle, and of course there were the girls who fawned over him.

When Draco had backed out of the task at the last minute, fleeing, Blaise was the first one to forgive him, and stuck by him even when many of his previous "friends" shunned him like a disease. Of course, now, after the war was over, and many of these "friends" were put into Azkaban for committing murders, or simply on house arrest, there were those who still treated him like the Slytherin Prince, but now he realised, more people were flocking towards Theodore Nott, who seemed "cooler" now that Draco didn't tease muggle-borns any longer. Theo still believed in pureblood supremacy. He had gotten off lightly because there was no evidence that he had been on the Dark Lord's side.

Theo went against Draco sometimes, teasing him for having to stay with Hermione, and calling her some despicable names. He still did it from time to time, but the next time, Draco was sure that he would caution Theo. He didn't like how Slytherin was falling into the hands of Nott. Nott was perhaps one of the most cunning Slytherins, and the Slytherins were obviously flocking towards them. The younger ones were starting to look up to him because their older housemates thought he was cool, but Draco was going to put a stop to it soon. He would do it after all the Veela craze had died down. Draco felt a certain responsibility towards the whole of Slytherin house, especially towards the younger ones. He didn't want them to think that Slytherins were all bad and they were all against muggle-borns, and he definitely did not need Nott putting all these wrong ideals into their heads. He would definitely be talking to his godfather about this.

Now that he was more comfortable with Blaise and Pansy, they made small conversation, talking about their classes, homework and occasionally, Quidditch was mentioned. Draco felt lighter after reconciling with his friends, but he could sense the curiosity they harbored rolling off them as waves. He was satiate them later, but for now, there were too many ears around, and he was content with enjoying his breakfast before breaking the news to them. _Perhaps Blaise can give me some advice on this whole Changing business, _he mused, _after all, his family does have a history of Veelas. _

He looked up as he heard the hoots of owls, and watched as dozens of different owls streamed through and entered the Hall. Letters, bags, and presents started to rain down amongst the Hall, and Draco raised his hand just in time when he saw Anubis, the graceful black owl that his mother owned, release it's hold on the letter it held and dropped it down onto him. _Strange, _Draco thought, _why would my mother send me a letter? Perhaps it's about my Veela heritage and has finally decided to tell me. I'll open it later, _he decided, pocketing the letter quickly. He lowered his head again, trying to decide between the scrambled eggs and the sausages, and chose the sausages, placing a small portion of it into his mouth.

His sausage nearly went the wrong way down, when a letter abruptly dropped onto his lap. Confused, he looked up and saw a rather aggressive owl flying away. He picked the letter up curiously, and turned it over. His mouth dropped open as he saw the infamous blood red Malfoy seal at the back of the letter. His mother never used this seal anymore, heck, no one used this seal anymore. He looked around to ensure that no one had seen his expression. _How could the writer of this letter have access to the design of this seal? _He didn't know, and his friends watched as he tore the letter open and scanned through it.

Long story short, Draco was horrified. This handwriting, it was unmistakable, it was Lucius'. _How's that possible, _his mind was racing. _He was supposed to be dead, his soul sucked out by the Dementors. Unless…The dream was true. He was there. He infiltrated my dreams, hurt me, and nearly killed me in the process. The only question I have is how he did it, and why he has not done it again. If he's back, that means…Fuck. My mum. She's in danger. I've got to warn her, unless, this letter is from her about this. Maybe she knows._

Frightened for his mother's life, he pushed back the bench abruptly, causing the Slytherin seated a little ways away from him to curse at him. Normally, he would have reacted, but this time, he strode out of the hall quickly, but not too quickly to avoid having any questions directed to him. When he was sure there was no one in sight, he broke out into a run, dashing up the stairs and through corridor after corridor, before hurriedly mumbling the password to the portrait guarding his dormitory, and ran into his room, locking the door behind him. Sweating, he dropped the letter as if it was cursed onto the table, and rushed to open the letter that his mother had sent him. He needed to know if she was okay. His mother's elegant script greeted him, and he was more than relieved to discover that her handwriting was not at all trembling, and he cast various charms on it to ensure that this was written by her mother, and not anyone else who was trying to impersonate her. When he didn't find any, he let himself relax for a smidgen of a second, and settled down to read what she had to say.

**Dear Draco,**

**I have heard, seen, and dreamt about the most disturbing news. I do not know if you are award of this, but the awful Skeeter woman has written another article on the Daily Prophet, and it seems like the muggle killings have begun again. The Dark Mark was cast into the sky, and I fear that this might be connected to Lucius.**

**You see, recently I have been having troubling dreams about Lucius. He frequently appears in my dreams now, speaking about a prophecy and how you are a blood traitor. He threatens me and hits me in my dream, but nothing too serious. When I awake however, I find bruises at the exact same positions that he has hit me in. I don't know what this means, Draco, but I pray he hasn't been attacking you in your dreams too. **

**He sent me a letter earlier today, threatening me to join him in taking over the world, and if I would not join him, he would come after you and kill you. I want you to know that I'm not going to join him, and I have already moved to hide in Andromedea's house for now, as their house is heavily guarded with various charms and protective spells. Do not worry about me Draco, but I fear for your safety. He knows about the prophecy, and he speaks of another that foretells his destruction by your hand. **

**I have tried all the spells I know on the letter he sent me, and I know that there are no tricks involved, and that Lucius is truly alive. How he managed to escape the Kiss is unknown to me, but all that matters is that he is living, and he is planning something to take down the Wizarding World, and that includes you. Stay safe, Draco, I hope that the wards at Hogwarts will be enough to keep you safe from him. Until he is brought down, I pray for your safety.**

**Love,**

**Mother**

Draco finished the letter and placed it lightly back onto the table. This was so typical of her. _She's worrying about me when I'm in a fortress under the watchful eye of professors and students alike, when she was stuck all alone in a gigantic manor with only house elves, and wards that might allow Lucius to get in. _Draco shook his head. His mother always put others before herself, and he was glad that she was safe in Andromedea's house. However, he still needed to take precautions and he decided that he would tell his godfather about this after his potions class, which was conveniently his first lesson.

He took a deep breath now and placed the letter that Lucius had sent in front of him, but this time, instead of tearing it open immediately and reading every single word, he waved his wand and cast a series of complicated spells to check for any dark magic on the letter. To his surprise, he found none. This was quite unlike Lucius, but he supposed that Lucius didn't want him killed immediately. He straightened out the crumples in the letter, and started to read every word, trying to uncover any clue that might help reveal his hideout. The sooner the aurors caught him, the better.

**Draco,**

**Surprised? Your dear father is writing to you. Read this letter carefully, son, and don't worry, this is not a joke or an illusion. I've heard rather disturbing news from my informant Draco. It appears that there is a prophecy to bring down people like me, and I'm most disappointed to hear that you are fraternizing with the mudblood. Have you thrown everything that I've brought you up with away? You are living in the same quarters as the dirty lowlife, and my informant tells me that you've started to grow soft. **

**It seems like you are one of those involved in my demise. Oh, don't be surprised, Draco, I know everything about you. I am your darkest nightmare, for both you and my dearest wife, and if you stand in my way, Draco, I will make sure that your mother suffers. I haunt your dreams, and I am everywhere. Knowing the coward you are, you will not do anything, and both you and your mother may run. You cannot escape me Draco, not even when you're in the castle, I am all-seeing, and I promise you if you defy me, I will end you. **

**You might be wondering why I haven't placed a curse on this letter to kill you, because, Draco, I'm giving you a chance to back out now. Prophecies aren't set in stone, and if you don't interfere with my plans, or better yet assist me, then when I rule the world, I might just spare you and the little mudblood you've grown soft about. But if you don't, I'll make sure that everyone that you love and care about will be killed, slowly. **

**I hope that you will make the right choice.**

**L.M**

Draco bunched up the letter in his fist, and then threw it against the wall.

"SHIT!"

He thought all his worst nightmares would be gone, now that Lucius was dead. He was wrong, and he had let his guard down. Lucius was still alive, and he was planning something, something big. He was going to overtake the Wizarding World like what Voldemort had tried to do, but this time, he wasn't going to make the same mistakes Voldemort had, and that included following the prophecies strictly. His cruel father was back, and Draco was starting to get second thoughts about returning to the manor. He didn't know if Lucius was inhabiting it, and it could be very dangerous if he went back with Hermione to grab the potions book. He was the only one who could get it though, since the wards only allowed those of Malfoy blood to enter. He would have to talk to his godfather about this too, maybe he could wheedle Severus to coming with the both of them for protection.

He folded the letter until it was small enough to slip into his pocket, and he headed down to the Potions dungeon for his first class. The whole class was almost full by now, and one of the only empty seats left was surprisingly, next to Hermione. He glanced to the side and noticed that Potter was seated next to Weasley, Finnegan with Thomas, Longbottom was sitting with one of the Patil twins, while Brown was sitting alone at the far corner of the classroom. It was either Hermione, or Brown, and of course, Draco hurriedly went to sit next to Hermione before the last person entered the classroom and took that seat.

Fortunately for him, he made it to the seat and sat down just as the last Slytherin came streaming into the room and looked around for an alternative seat. Draco almost laughed. The last Slytherin was none other than Nott, and he looked extremely disgusted as to having to sit next to Brown. He gave Draco a glare as he passed, knowing that Draco had stolen the seat before him, and Draco chuckled softly to himself. Nott would sit with the muggleborn over the dirty slut anyday. Draco knew that Slytherins favored blood purity, but they valued faithfulness above everything else, and obviously Brown did not fall into that category.

Speaking of Nott, Draco was under the impression that he was Lucius' informant. Nott's family was heavily involved in the Dark Arts, but they had not been that prominent in the Dark Lord's ranks, and hence Voldemort had never asked for Nott to become a Death Eater. Nott wasn't well known for his intelligence or his wand work, which was probably another one of the reasons why Voldemort had never requested for him. Draco knew that he would need to keep a close eye on Nott, and if he even got the slightest evidence that Nott was working for his father, he would strike. But for now, Draco could only tell his suspicions to Severus.

The class settled down and hushed abruptly when the door to the potions dungeon swung open and Severus entered with his cloak billowing behind him. When he had entered the same way in Draco's first year, Draco couldn't resist the smirk that adorned his face. His godfather sure knew how to make an impression. He couldn't help but smirk back at his godfather when Severus had pointed out that he would be one of the better students in class. He remembered how awful Severus had been to Potter on that day, and he had felt happy when Severus had put Potter in his place. His godfather's prediction came true anyway, as always. Potter was rubbish at potions. Both he and Weasley were one of the worst, and the only Gryffindor that was almost up to his Potions standard was Hermione.

Today, they were brewing Amortentia. They had brewed this many times before, but Severus stressed that he wanted a perfect batch of potions from them. They were working in pairs for this activity, and Draco knew at once that Hermione and himself would be able to complete the potion in a jiffy if everything went well.

"I'll get the ingredients," he offered.

Hermione gave him a small but tentative smile, and he went off to the store to grab the necessary ingredients. He returned quickly to find that Hermione had already started up the cauldron. The pair of them worked in silence, slicing, grinding and swirling. They were done in 40 minutes, and their potion was just the right colour. They bottled the potion up in individual vials and sent it up to Severus' desk. He smirked at the both of them, and Draco grinned openly back. Hermione blushed slightly, no doubt she had never seen Severus smirk. _I need to talk to you, _Draco mouthed to him, and Severus sent an almost imperceptible nod back at him.

They returned to their seats to wait out the remaining 30 minutes left of class. The two of them sat down and started chatting about the most random of things, and Draco found that he quite enjoyed talking to Hermione. The both of them were relatively of the same intellectual level, and Draco missed having a decent conversation with a girl who was not only trying to get into his pants.

"Hey Hermione," he said out of the blue, "Can you stay back after Potions with me? I have discovered something that applies to you as well, and we need to ask Se-Professor Snape for permission to leave Hogwarts tomorrow."

Hermione noticed his slip and smiled slightly, but nodded her head.

They were quietly chatting about their plans of going back to the manor. Draco deemed it safe to do so, because Nott was way out of hearing distance; situated at the back of the classroom, and the pair sitting next to them was Blaise and Pansy, so it was perfectly safe to talk about their trip. They were just deciding on the time to go to the manor and were so immersed in their conversation that the both of them nearly jumped when they heard Severus' voice so close to them.

"Miss Granger, please refrain from chatting in my class and disturbing the rest of the students. I know both you and Mr Malfoy have finished the potion perfectly but the rest of these dunderheads obviously need more time, so I would appreciate it if you could shut your know-it-all mouth for just the few remaining minutes. 5 points from Gryffindor for disturbing my lesson."

Draco watched as Hermione flushed a deep red and she was about to open her mouth to retort, but Draco nudged her and she stayed silent. He knew the reason why his godfather had shut them up, and it seemed only natural of him to pick on Hermione rather than him.

"Really," Severus' voice drawled out again, but this time it was not targeted to the two of them, "you two are so incompetent in potions that you can't manage to brew a simple love potion after the 5th try. Merlin knows how you managed to survive the war not knowing how to brew the simplest of potions. Though I suppose you had Miss Granger then."

At this, Hermione flushed again and the class collectively gasped. Their potions professor had just issued an indirect compliment towards the Gryffindor Princess, something that had never happened before. He had never given out compliments to Gryffindors at all, only punishments, and Draco smirked at the looks on everyone's faces. Evidently something had happened between the two, and Draco was going to ask Hermione about it later.

"But I will not tolerate slipshod work in my class, Potter, Weasley, you have wasted my time again as well as a good batch of ingredients. _**Evanesco.**_ 20 points from Gryffindor for your failed potions work. The both of you will serve detention with me tonight for 2 hours. I do not see the point of the two of you continuing in Potions, since you two have an evident disrespect for the subtle science of it. I was right, clearly, fame isn't everything," Severus sneered, vanishing the contents in the cauldron with a flick of his wand.

He swept to the front of the class, leaving an embarrassed Potter and Weasley behind. The rest of the class finished the Potions when the period ended, and they managed to produce adequate samples of the love potion, though Severus still sneered at Longbottom's potion. The class was dismissed soon after, and the students quickly left the class. Draco saw Nott stare suspiciously at him when he didn't make a move to leave, and he made a note in his mind to ward the classroom before speaking to his godfather. He watched as Potter and Weasley made their way over to their table.

Hermione's POV:

Harry and Ron was coming over to our table, no doubt waiting for me to leave with them.

"You guys go on," she said, "I have to ask Professor Snape something about the potion we brewed today."

"And Malfoy?" Harry asked.

_Crap. I hadn't thought about that. _

"Uh…he's…" Hermione tried frantically to think up a reason that could pass off, but before one even began forming in her mind, Draco had answered for her smoothly.

"The both of us are going to ask about the properties of one of the ingredients actually, about how the amount might affect how the potion would turn out. Not that it's any of your business anyway," he snarkily replied.

Hermione flashed him a grateful look, and Ron shrugged and let it go. Harry though, seemed to be a little suspicious and gave her the we-will-talk-about-this-later look, which Hermione dreaded. She didn't want to divulge anything to them, so she supposed she would have to ignore them altogether.

The two of them made their way to the front where Professor Snape was waiting, and Hermione sat down at the chairs in front of his desk. Hermione observed though, that Draco didn't. Instead, he walked up to the door of the Potions dungeon and shut it firmly, muttering a series of complex charms and incantations, no doubt warding the classroom against unwanted eavesdroppers. When he was satisfied, he walked over to where Hermione was sitting and plonked himself down onto the seat. A moment later, Professor Snape broke the silence.

"I would like to apologise, Miss Granger, for the deduction of points. I merely found it prudent to do so since the both of you were deep in conversation and unaware of some random curious glances sent your way. I didn't want anyone hearing what you were discussing, since I have no doubt that it was of something you didn't want everyone to know about. Also, it's my reputation to deduct points from Gryffindor and not Slytherin, no?"

"That's fine sir," Hermione spoke up.

She had just received an apology from Professor Snape. The world must be going mad. Also, she hadn't actually told Harry and Ron about their little meeting. They didn't ask, so Hermione didn't find it prudent to tell them if they didn't care about what had gone on. She didn't blame them though. The two of them were more caught up about Quidditch than anything else.

"Call me Severus, Miss Granger, sir makes me sound so old," he grimaced.

"It's Hermione, si-Severus," she managed to get out.

His name felt foreign on her tongue.

She saw Draco's incredulous expression from the corner of her eye and she nearly burst out laughing. He looked from his godfather and back to her again, looking thoroughly confused at their level of comfort with each other. He cleared his throat then, and Hermione's attention snapped immediately towards him.

"The reason I came to you today, Uncle Sev, is because I would like to request permission for Hermione here as well to accompany me to the manor to look for the book that you have requested for, and this is because…"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know the both of you are involved in the prophecy, and it is extremely likely that the two of you form one of the couples mentioned," he drawled out impatiently, "please continue."

Hermione could see that Draco looked shocked for a moment there, and then composed himself.

"But…you…" he stuttered out.

"As I have mentioned once before to Mis-Hermione on an occasion, she is not the only know-it-all within the castle walls. Stretch out your arms."

Hermione extended her arm obediently and watched as Draco did the same. The Potions professor studied their tattoos with great curiosity, before sinking back into his chair again with a thoughtful look on his face. Hermione was going to retract her arm when Draco gripped onto it, not allowing her to do so.

"You see, Uncle Sev," he said, "the tattoos also have quite an unfortunate habit of doing this."

At the word "this", he pressed their tattoos together and Hermione felt the tingling spread through her body again. The image formed, but this time, the both of them expected it, so it didn't come as such a great shock. Hermione saw Prof-Severus lean forward with a strange gleam of excitement in his eyes and watched as he analysed the image. When he was done, Hermione pulled away awkwardly and rubbed the part of her forearm where the tattoo was. Having Draco's skin come into contact with hers had sent a warm feeling in her gut, and it had felt so good that she didn't want it to end, and she flushed at the thought.

"That settles it! This has just proven further that the both of you are indeed a couple in this prophecy. You know what, Draco, the only left that will confirm this for sure is your Veela instincts. If my suspicions are correct, then your mate is sitting right beside you now."

Hermione flushed deeply at his comment. She didn't know what to feel at the prospect of being tied to Draco Malfoy for the rest of her life. A part of her was leaping for joy, while the other half was afraid of the commitments and how sudden it was. She discreetly glanced at Draco and saw that he was also blushing, and Hermione found it cute how he was suddenly flustered and gaping like a fish out of water at his godfather. He must have noticed Hermione staring at him, because he flushed a even deeper shade of red, but still managed to send a smirk her way.

"So," Severus said, "what did you want to speak to me about? Rest assured I will grant Hermione and yourself permission to leave the grounds."

Abruptly, Hermione noticed that Draco stiffened up and his fists clenched so hard that his knuckles were turning white.

"Nothing I say here leaves this room, alright?" He said darkly.

Hermione nodded her consent, as did Severus, and the both of them turned their attention towards the blonde who was now shaking. Whether it was in anger or fear, Hermione didn't know.

"Lucius is back."

Hermione felt as if all the breath had left her lungs, and like she had been punched in the gut. The devil was back. The very person who had been so cruel and who had stood by Voldemort's side for as long as she could remember. The person who had haunted Draco's nightmare and caused him pain, was back. She never did like Lucius Malfoy. When she had first met him at the bookshop, she already got the impression that he was a stuck up pureblood git, but of course she had never said that aloud to him.

"How…" she stuttered out.

"He never really died," Draco said, and Hermione could sense the bitterness in his tone. "He just used money and bought his life back. He got some poor bloke to polyjuice himself and paid the family a lot of money to squirm out of his sentence. I bet he had someone in the ministry. He might have even have bribed the guard, since the guard didn't detect the polyjuice. He's out to take over the world again, and he knows I'm in the prophecy. Here."

Hermione watched as he thrust out a crumpled piece of parchment onto the table. She grabbed it and read it thoroughly, her eyes flying through the words quickly but her brain was slow on the uptake. She handed the letter to Severus, and she watched as the expression on his face became quite worried. When he finally looked up from the letter with apprehension, Hermione noticed that Draco seemed to be quaking slightly as his voice was shaky.

"Uncle Sev, please, please…..please protect m…my mother…" he managed to stutter out.

Abruptly, tears began to fall from his eyes.

Hermione was shocked.

She had never seen Draco display so much emotion before, and was startled when she saw a thin rivulet of tears stream down his face. _He must really care about his mum, _Hermione thought. She tentatively placed her hand above his clenched fist, and felt him stiffen suddenly, but then he relaxed. The shakes on his shoulders were slowly subsiding, and soon the tears disappeared altogether and his face was once again schooled into the familiar mask.

"She's staying with Andromedea, but I need you to straighten out the wards, please," he stated calmly, "Lucius' return complicates things a bit. We don't know if he's hiding out in the manor, though I seriously doubt that, but we'll need you to come with us to the manor. There's one more thing, and that's the reason why Hermione is coming with us. Lucius has been infiltrating my dreams, and he's already very nearly killed me once. He gave this to me."

Draco pulled up his shirt and exposed the fading scar on his stomach.

"Hermione was there, and she knows that he's intruded my dreams. He somehow managed to cause me harm from the dream itself. I don't know why he hasn't struck again, but Hermione's coming to help us find a book that can help me with this."

Severus looked slightly taken aback by this. Obviously he hadn't expected Lucius to be using Dark Magic and trying to kill his own son.

"Alright," he said, "we leave at noon. Meet me by the entrance gates and we will walk to Hogsmeade and disapparate from there. Hermione, bring the marauder's map to ensure no one follows us. We might need it. In fact, I have a feeling that we will need the invisibility cloak as well," he said grimly.

**Somewhere in the outskirts of London…**

**A man sat behind a chair, his back facing the other man who had just entered. They were in a dim room, the fire flickering only slightly. **

"**What do you have for me," the man asked without turning around. **

"**I delivered the letter as you asked via the fiercest owl that I found in the store. I am certain he received it, and he was talking to the mudblood. He was going to talk to Snape together with her, but I couldn't manage to listen in," the figure explained.**

"**Kindly explain to me WHY YOU DIDN'T MANAGE TO HEAR WHAT THEY SAID?" **

**The figure trembled slightly.**

"**I…they…put up spells and charms. I couldn't hear anything….I…am sorry master."**

"**But I did, master," another new voice came from within the shadows.**

**The man still didn't swivel around, but sat up straighter.**

"**They are going to Malfoy Manor tomorrow, in search for something to explain how you managed to injure the blood traitor in his dreams. He doesn't understand why you have not struck again. The mudblood and his dearest godfather is going along. Narcissa is hiding in her mudblood-loving sister's home. Shall we strike tomorrow, master?"**

"**No."**

"**But…"  
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"**I said no. That is an order. The message has been delivered. Leave."**

**The two figures bowed, and left hurriedly. **

**The man in the chair opened the thick book nearest to him. **

"**Yes, yes," he said to himself, "the plan is going spectacularly. They suspect nothing. Soon I will have them at my feet, and they will bow down to me." **

**He moved to the fireplace and threw some green powder into the flames.**

"**It's been done."**

"**Excellent, Lucius, excellent. Everything is going according to plan."**


	16. Secrets of the Manor

**Author's Note:**

**Oh snap! It seems like Lucius is getting more followers, and one of them seems particularly eager to kill. It also seems that he answers to someone, so ooh who could that be? I'll leave you to ponder that lol. I'm revealing a lot in this chapter, but the main idea will slowly be played out. Oh and who's the other secret informant from the last chapter? Do tell me your suspicions.**

**Who is excited for this chapter huh? It's the 7****th**** of September! Today's the day Draco and Hermione and Snape go to Malfoy manor to hunt for the books. It's going to be exciting I promise:D I have been awaiting this chapter, but I had other things to settle before this. The manor is empty of people, but what about other things? Enchantments? What else?**

**Sorry for the late update guys. Went on a short vacation! Don't kill me! I recently started writing another story too! You know sometimes when you just don't feel like writing? Yeah I that's kinda what happened here Also, school started again so things have been crazy.**

**I'm introducing a new element to this chapter. Basically it was inspired by Eragon and also Eon. I don't own both of these amazing books, so yup just to clear things up! You'll see what I mean if you read on. **

**Thank you for the PM Sarapha, and the review by Parvati48 as usual:D **

**Parvati48: I have no idea that anyone even squealed, but relax all will be revealed in time. Also, a little suspense makes it more fun, no? I'm glad you liked the interaction between Severus, Draco and Hermione. I tried to make it as non-OOC as possible. **

**Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters belong to J.K Rowling. Nothing belongs to me apart from the plot. **

**REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!**

**Okay on with the story:) enjoy!**

**Secrets of the Manor**

_**7**__**th**__** September**_

Harry's POV: 

Harry woke up from a deep sleep, and slowly sat up, his side slightly aching from the awkward position that he had fallen asleep in. Yesterday had been one of the best days of his life. Luna had accepted his offer to go on a date together, and that was today. Harry hopped out of bed and shuffled through all the clothes he had in his chest. He was trying to find something casual, yet not very shoddy, to wear on their first date. He couldn't wear the usual shirt that he always wore, that blue shirt that was always his favourite.

Ron was still fast asleep on his bed, and he was snoring loudly, his long arms dangling slightly off the bed as he slept on his side. Harry sighed.

"Ron…Ron…get up! It's hogsmeade weekend and I'm…"

He was interrupted by another loud snore, signaling to him that Ron was still asleep and not listening to a single word he was saying.

Harry moved over to where his best mate was fast asleep, and roughly poked him in the shoulder. He was rewarded with a smack from Ron's flailing hand. With a grunt, Ron flipped around to lie on his other side and still continued sleeping. Harry shook his head. His best friend really was difficult to wake up. He was not a morning person at all. _I had hoped I wouldn't have to resort to this, but clearly I have no choice,_ he thought to himself.

"RON! WAKE UP THERE ARE PLATES OF SAUSAGES AND IF YOU DON'T WAKE UP RIGHT NOW I WILL EAT ALL OF THEM!" Harry shouted right into Ron's ear.

Harry stepped back quickly, as Ron suddenly shot upright on his bed.

"WHERE?!" Ron shouted.

Harry laughed so hard that tears started streaming down his face. Ron looked positively furious when he discovered that Harry had tricked him, and Harry loved that expression on his face. His face was now as red as his hair, and this just caused Harry to hold onto his stomach as tears streamed down his face. Harry had to clutch onto the bedpost with one hand to prevent himself from sliding down onto the floor and rolling on it. When he had calmed down, he looked at his best friend's expression and had to bite his lip to prevent himself from laughing.

"Sorry mate, I couldn't have woken you up any other way."

Ron pouted like a five year old kid who didn't get his candy, and Harry chuckled softly.

"Rise and shine, **Ronald**, I have something to tell you."

Ron rubbed his eyes sleepily and sat up in his bed, before turning his bedside. He looked at the calendar that Harry had given him not too long ago, and then suddenly he was wide awake.

"HARRY! IT'S HOGSMEADE WEEKEND, FINALLY! WE CAN GO TO HONEYDUKES AND GET MORE CANDY!" He shouted.

Harry winced slightly at Ron's loud voice.

"Yeah, about that Ron, I can't go with you today to Honeydukes," Harry said rubbing the back of his head sheepishly and turning a little red.

"WHAT WHY?"

Harry flinched from Ron's loud reply.

"IkindahaveadatewithLunatoday ," he said in a rush.

"You have a date with Luna? Mate that's bloody brilliant. You finally got the guts to ask her out?"

Harry was a little surprised that Ron wasn't angry at him for ditching him. _I guess the surprise of me going on a date with Luna overruled his ability to be angry, _thought Harry. _Wait a second….._

"Ron, what do you mean when you say I **finally **got the guts to ask Luna out?"

Ron looked at Harry a little sheepishly.

"Well, mate, to everyone but you, it was bloody obvious that you had a thing for her, at least it was to me and most of the mates in Gryffindor. Bloody hell, even Hermione knew. You just made it so bloody obvious to everyone, when you keep glancing at her in the Great Hall. Yesterday's incident just proved everything. That reminds me, Seamus owes me 20 bucks," he stated jumping out of bed and going over to wake the Irish boy.

"Don't worry about me, Harry, go enjoy your **date**."

Harry groaned as both Dean and Seamus perked up at the mention of the word. Quickly grabbing his clothes, he went into the bathroom, face flushed amidst snickers and wolf whistles from his dorm-mates. He freshened up and mussed up his hair a little bit, exactly like how he had seen his father in pictures while trying to impress Lily. Examining his reflection in the mirror, he nodded in satisfaction and straightened his shirt, before stepping back out into his dorm and stuffed some galleons into his pocket.

Before he could leave the dorm and head down to grab a quick breakfast however, Hermione burst into their dorm room, looking a little frantic. She nearly knocked him down in her hurry, but managed to catch herself before Harry got barreled over.

"Hey Harry," she panted out, "can I please please please borrow your invisibility cloak and your marauders' map? I need it because I uh….okay I just need it to get to the Restricted Section in the Library. Will you please lend it to me?"

Harry looked at her skeptically, before going to his trunk and getting both the map and the cloak out. Hermione reached out for it almost too enthusiastically, and Harry felt something fishy going on. _She's not using it for the library,_ he thought.

"Nuh-uh Hermione, you're not getting it until you tell me what you really need it for."

"Fine Harry," she relented, "I'll tell you when I get back. I am already late for my meeting. I'm going somewhere where I can find information about this," she said, jerking up her sleeve to reveal the tattoo.

She seemed a little uncomfortable, and Harry could tell she was nervous. She never really was quite a good liar. Hesitantly, Harry handed the cloak and the map over to her, and she excitedly grabbed both of them before rushing forward and pecking him on the cheeks and dashing off again.

"Thanks Harry! I owe you one! Bye Ron, Dean, Seamus! Enjoy your date with Luna, Harry! Be nice!" She shouted back over her shoulder.

Harry blushed a fierce red, before rushing out of his dorm amidst the snickers of his roommates. He went down to the Great Hall and sat on the Ravenclaw table, ignoring the stares from the others. He still had a bit of time before Luna came down to meet him, and he patiently sat there and ate his breakfast.

Hermione's POV:

She scurried away after getting Harry's cloak and map. He was getting terribly nosy into her business after the War. She understood that he was just looking out for her like any brother would look out for his sister, and he had been more uptight ever since the prophecy had been issued. Everyone had been set on edge, even the professors. She had caught Professor McGonagall looking at the three of them worriedly sometimes, but she would look away whenever Hermione caught her staring. Hermione would tell Harry and Ron what transpired later on, but for now, she was late.

She was late to meet Draco and Severus, and she was silently cursing herself in the head for that. Her first meeting with the two Slytherins whom had just come to trust her, and she was late. Hermione Granger didn't have a reputation for being late, oh no she didn't, and she was angry that she had woken up late and had already skipped breakfast. Hermione Granger didn't oversleep, but last night she had been up so late just thinking about today, and being scared about what was going to happen. Most people would think she didn't "do" scared, after being one of the Golden Trio, but she was only human, and she experienced fear just like any other person would, and returning to the place where she was tortured was one of the things that could bring out that emotion.

When she had finally dozed off, she had had a strange dream. She had been in a forest of some sort, and she was running. Something was calling her name, and she felt a strange draw to it as she ran towards the sound. She had kept running, until she reached a cave deep in the forest, and she immediately went inside. A dragon was laying there, and she ran towards it.

_Come to me, _it had said.

The dream scared Hermione a little. She didn't know if this was a premonition of something that was about to happen, or if she was supposed to find this dragon. It didn't look too scary, only majestic, but it seemed young, like it hadn't fully grown out yet. The dragon had puffed out smoke at her, but gently. It appeared to have been waiting for her. She shook it off now as a dream created purely out of stress, as she hurried towards the meeting point with the cloak and map in hand. Both Severus and Draco were there already. Both of them were chatting as she ran up to them panting heavily.

"Sorry I'm ***gasp* **late I woke up ***gasp* **later than planned," she apologized profusely.

Draco smirked knowingly, as if knowing she would be late at least once in her life, and that this happened to be just that time. Severus just nodded impatiently and took the map from her hands. He scanned the map and cursed softly.

"Just as I suspected. Nott is near us, but not too near. Come on," he whispered, leading Draco and Hermione into The Three Broomsticks. Once inside, he motioned for Hermione to flip the cloak above both hers and Draco's heads, and she complied quickly. The cloak seemed to be smaller than before, but that was probably because she had grown up, so the both of them tried to hide themselves fully under the cloak. It was extremely difficult, and a little bit of their clothes were sticking out of the edges. They continuously reshuffled their body parts, but there would always be some part of them that was escaping the cloak's protection.

Hermione squeaked as Draco suddenly pulled her body towards his, and placed an arm over her shoulder, allowing her to snuggle into his chest as the cloak now draped comfortably around them. Hermione blushed, horribly embarrassed, and she smacked him on the stomach lightly when she saw him smirk.

Not a moment later, the door to the Three Broomsticks opened and Theodore Nott stepped in. Severus was already sitting down on a table and had ordered a Butterbeer, making it seem perfectly normal. Hermione held her breath as Nott walked right past them and scanned the bar in confusion. He locked eyes with Severus, who gave him a glare in return. Hermione and Draco were standing right behind Severus now, and Hermione couldn't help but let out a small squeak when Nott brushed past them on the way out.

He immediately whirled around but saw no one as usual. He seemed to be straining to pick up another sound, but nothing could be heard. Hermione found herself praying that he would leave soon, since she couldn't breathe very well with Draco's hand clasped tightly over her mouth and nose. When Nott finally exited the place, Draco removed his hand and Hermione immediately gasped for air.

Severus motioned for them to follow him, and they did, silently, with Hermione monitoring the

Marauder's Map. They walked to the apparition point, and making sure that no one was around,

which was extra easy with Severus being around, the trio grabbed onto each other as they whirled

away. They were gone in a pop, and none of them saw Nott pop out of the shadows far away from

where they had disappeared. He hurried back to the castle to send a letter.

Draco's POV:

Stupid Nott was following them around, he cursed inwardly. _I should have known, _he thought, _trying _

_to convert Slytherins to follow him around like puppies. I can't believe he's so sick. Didn't he learn from _

_the war? _Perhaps he didn't experience the pain of the dark side, the pain of getting crucio-ed for not

feeling cruel enough. That was the crime in the dark side. Draco couldn't guarantee that the light side

was all sunshine and daisies and butterflies, but it had been much better than the dark side. _Stupid Nott. _It seemed like Draco would need to exert his Slytherin Prince position to get people to stop following in Nott's footsteps. _So Nott is working for my father huh, oh that will be hell to pay when I have sufficient evidence. Or maybe I'll just scare him into submission, _he said smirking.

He gripped onto Hermione's hand and Severus' shoulder and pictured his the gates of Malfoy Manor in his head. They disappeared with a pop and Draco could feel the sensation of getting squeezed in an extremely narrow tube and he clenched Severus' shoulder tightly and felt Hermione grasp his hand tighter. Her hand was really warm, and Draco found himself grasping her hand to prevent them from getting broken apart by the strange forces of apparition. Within just a minute or so, they landed in front of the gates of the manor in a very awkward position. As usual, Severus was perfectly poised and remained standing on his feet, whereas Draco stumbled a bit. Hermione however, fell onto the floor and pulled Draco down with him.

Flushing heavily at the position they were in, Draco hurriedly got up and smoothed his robes over. He avoided locking gazes with Hermione but when they had been in **that **position, they were breathing heavily and Draco could still feel the intensity of their gaze. They avoided any form of contact, but Draco had to reluctantly grab her hand again so that they could both enter the manor. The rules of Malfoy Manor was simple. Any pureblood could enter, at least those recognized by the wards, but half-bloods and muggle-borns had to enter together in close contact with a pureblood. These wards were only put up later on when Death Eaters brought in muggles and wizards and witches for their sick entertainment. He explained this to Hermione when she looked at him a little confused, and also a little shy at the same time.

Severus rolled his eyes and smirked, a gesture which Draco did not miss, and Draco glared at him from the corner of his eye. Severus just smirked even more boldly back, and Draco huffed childishly and turned away. Severus chuckled softly, as the gates swung open to admit the trio into Malfoy Manor. They started the long walk up to the house, keeping cautious of their surroundings. Severus had already performed a _Homenum Revelio _charm, but that had came out to be a negative, so they were more relaxed, but still slightly on their guard. With every step they took towards the house, Draco could feel Hermione tense a little bit more, and her hand gripped painfully around his. When they reached the front door, her whole body tensed, and she started trembling.

"Hey, it's okay," he whispered comfortingly to the terrified girl, "there's nothing in there that can hurt you, plus Severus and I are here, and we'll protect you. We don't have to go into **that **room if you don't want to. We won't even have to go near it. The library's on the second floor."

Hermione nodded her head slightly, but there were slight tears brimming at the corners of her eyes. Draco felt his heart wench at her trembling form, and he gently released her hand from his hold and instead placed his arm around her shoulders, drawing her close towards him. Surprisingly, she didn't resist, but instead shuffled closer to him and accepted his comfort. They walked past **that **room and Hermione whimpered, so Draco increased the pace of his steps and rubbed her shoulder comfortingly, and soon they were walking up the ornate staircase, towards the direction of the library.

He saw her glance around, her curiosity getting the better of her as she looked into rooms with open doors, and he saw the confusion in her gaze. She looked like she was debating with herself whether to ask a question, but Draco knew that her inquisitive side would win over and she would soon speak her mind to him. He was right.

"So, Draco, why are the rooms here so cheery? Why is the hallway brightly coloured, and why are there no paintings hung on the walls? I figured your house would be a little more…" she said, trailing off uncertainly.

"Dark?" Draco said, finishing for her.

She nodded timidly.

"My mother and I spent the summer redecorating the manor, taking down the paintings that were terribly rude and locking them in the attic. We redid the whole West Wing, which harbored all the bad memories, so we made the place a whole lot cheerier. **That **place now looks nothing like before. It's actually a room filled with Gryffindor colours," he said, chuckling to himself.

She gave him an incredulous look, which was quickly averted when he met her gaze. Severus interrupted their awkward silence by stopping in front of the library.

"We're here."

Draco saw Hermione look utterly confused at the wall in front of them. To her, it would seem like a normal wall, but to all the purebloods, the wall was actually a door with a serpent. To enter, a drop of blood would be taken from the representative, and if he were to be a recognized member of the manor, the serpent would allow passage. Draco stretched his finger out and the serpent's fangs bit down onto it, drawing blood. In a few seconds, it hissed and slithered up a series of patterns, unlocking the door and allowing the trio to enter the library.

He headed straight towards the section that sat rows and rows of books on Malfoy history, but stopped soon realising that Hermione was not following him. She had slipped out of his grasp when he started walking and he saw that she was just standing at the entrance, pivoting around slowly, seemingly absorbing every single detail of the library. Her mouth was hanging open and all her worries about being in the manor had vanished upon seeing rows and rows of literature. Her eyes were roaming greedily around the whole room, and Draco chuckled.

"Come on Hermione, we haven't got all day. You can look around the library for a bit once we've found the books that we need, and I'll even let you borrow whatever books you want," he promised.

Her expression lit up instantly and Draco laughed.

"Jeesh Granger," he said, teasing her, "just get married to your books already."

Hermione glared at him, but she knew he was joking; Draco could tell from her half-hearted glare.

"I….just….so many books," she said, awed.

"Alright Hermione," he said, "just come along and refrain from drooling on any of the books here."

Hermione glared at him again, but she followed him all the same and Draco strode over to where Severus now stood, his brows furrowing as he dug through numerous volumes of Malfoy history. Draco grabbed a few books from the pile and started scanning through the content pages, trying to find anything relevant to help in their search.

Severus had already found the potions book he was looking for and was greedily soaking in all the information that the book had to offer. Draco knew that sooner or later, the potions master might just discover something extremely unpleasant, but right now, Draco was more interested in looking through why Lucius had managed to invade his mind. He was just reading through a section about his great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather Orion Malfoy when a thump, followed by a scream, shook his concentration.

That scream was very familiar, and Draco thought he wouldn't have to hear it again for as long as he lived, but he was wrong. He turned to see Hermione clutching her arm fearfully and screaming in pain. The book lay open at her feet, but it was not of Draco's concern. Their shouts were combining with her screams, and it was very distracting to say the least. Healing charms were not helping to ease her pain, and tears were now flowing openly down her cheeks and dripping onto the mahogany table as she continued to flail her arm around. Draco did the last thing he knew. He motioned for Severus to hold Hermione still, and he did, although he was still partially in shock. Draco murmured a few words under his breath and Hermione stopped screaming. Her arm lay limp now, and she merely whimpered.

Both Severus and Draco heaved a sigh of relief and proceeded to cast a cooling charm on her arm. Hermione was crying softly now, and Draco wrapped an arm reassuringly around her as she sobbed into his shoulder. When she had calmed down enough and her sobs had become sniffles, Draco decided to ask her what had caused her to be in pain.

"I don't know…I just….the book, and then suddenly I could feel my arm on fire, like it was getting sliced through by a dozen knives," she said, hiccupping.

Draco's eyes widened and picked up the book cautiously, holding his breath and bracing himself for the pain. Nothing happened, and he tried different ways of holding the book but nothing triggered a reaction for it. Casting a spell on the book, Draco realised that there were bits of complicated ancient magic protecting the book. Then it dawned on Draco. The books in here were for the eyes of the "worthy" only. Perhaps there were charms set in place that would prevent those who were inferior to touch them.

"Alright Hermione, from now on, don't touch any book, especially those containing family history. I think they have charms cast on them so that only those deemed worthy could touch them without getting hurt. I'll perform the spell on all the books, and don't touch those with ancient magic protecting them. It will repel you and hurt you."

She nodded timidly and Draco started to cast spells on all the books in the pile. It turned out that almost all of them were warded, and Hermione couldn't do much except stare over his shoulder and scan through the same books that he was looking at. Severus suddenly gasped and Draco looked up from what he was reading.

Severus looked around the library for a bit, but then seemed to decide that it was still not a good choice to speak out loud, and merely said, "Later."

Hermione was poking at his shoulder now, and Draco turned his attention towards her. He looked

down to where she was pointing and nearly did a double take. Here was a section about the spells

that many Malfoys had used, and those that passed down from one generation to the next.

_Sogno camminatore: (literally meaning dream walker in Italian)_

_**This spell allows the user to enter someone's mind without the consent of the opposite party. The **_

_**spell may only be used when the party is sleeping, and the user can invade their mind and**_

_**communicate with the other person through the use of dreams or nightmares. It was used when **_

_**the Malfoy man was away for business and wanted to check in on their wife or children. It can **_

_**also be used to sift through memories of the opposite party, and this spell is used by men to **_

_**identify any infidelities in their wife.**_

_**WARNING: ANY DAMAGE DONE IN THE OPPOSITE PARTY'S MIND WILL BE INFLICTED IN REALITY.**_

_**The wandwork for this spell is simple. The user only has to have an item of the opposite party's, **_

_**and the user would only need to point his wand at the item and whisper, "Inserisci la tua mente" and concentrate hard. In only a few moments, the user will be in the mind of the desired person.**_

_**To ward against this spell, one can either take a dreamless sleep potion, or be in the company of someone they love dearly after being bonded, since there will be no chance of infidelities if the person in question were to be sleeping right next to his/her counterpart. **_

Draco sighed.

"Seems like the only way Lucius can no longer get into my head is if I get bonded to my mate, which will happen soon enough, hopefully."

Then he started panicking about all the possibilities that could happen and make everything go wrong. _But what if my mate doesn't like me? What if she rejects me and I die? What if she still sees me as the little pureblood asshole from before presuming I have offended her in the past? What if she doesn't return my feelings? What if…_

"Draco, shut up please! You are giving me a headache by thinking so loudly! Please try to keep your own thoughts to yourself, and for the record, don't worry, your mate **will** love you unconditionally," Snape said, looking up from the book and giving Draco a slight smirk.

Draco flushed slightly and closed the book with a snap, getting up to place the books back into their respective places. He stood up so suddenly that he knocked his chair into Hermione, who was still standing behind him, and she toppled backwards with a small cry. _Shit. _

"Couldn't stand on your own two feet Granger," he teased, offering a hand.

"Shut up Malfoy you big bigot, if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have fallen in the first place," she retorted back, refusing to grab his hand and instead hauled herself back up by gripping the edge of the table.

"Watch it Granger, that table is probably worth 30 times of your entire inheritance," he teased, trying to aggravate the girl once more.

"Really Malfoy, I swear your head is still as big as ever. Dear Merlin I really pity the girl who ends up being your mate. Just go put those books back and stop annoying me," she yelled back.

"Yes Mother," he said rolling his eyes, then smirked.

"Maybe you're just jealous Granger," he replied.

His only reply was a flying quill that was chucked at his head. He ducked, with the reflexes of a seeker and the quill went soaring harmlessly above his head.

"Tsk tsk Granger, throwing things around now, are we," he drawled, before quickly ducking out of the way of another quill and scuttling over to place the books back to their original position.

He couldn't help but tease Hermione. She looked so cute when she was riled up, her cheeks flushed and her being seemingly radiating annoyance. _Woah, wait a second there Draco_, he said thinking to himself. _Did you just think of Hermione Granger to be cute? At the start of the year you were horrified to learn that she was going to be fellow Heads with you and now you think she's cute? Must be the male hormones acting up. _He shook his head and walked over back to where his visitors were sitting.

Severus was still engrossed in the potions book, his eyes flying over each line as his brow furrowed even more than usual, if that was even possible. Hermione was now reading one of the books which didn't harbor any ancient magic. The book was not about Malfoy ancestry, but rather about the various magical beings that walked amongst themselves in the Wizarding World. Draco leaned over her shoulder and started reading the section that she was currently at.

**Dragon Masters**

**One of the rarest and most powerful beings to ever roam about the world, Dragon Masters were wizards/witches who possessed the ability to communicate with a dragon. These people were often of pureblood descent, though there have been some rare exceptions. Dragon Masters possess an amazing level of intelligence since childhood and are extremely brave and strong, stepping up to every challenge. **

**Before a Dragon Master bonds with their dragon, he/she will start having strange dreams of meeting their dragon and of their dragon calling to them. On the day that they come into their Inheritance, Dragon Masters will journey to the location of their dragon and bond with the dragon, which involves letting their dragon burn the Dragon Master mark onto their palm. They are led by a strong pull towards the right direction and also by memories from their dreams. When they are bonded, a Dragon Master and its dragon is truly a formidable adversary. **

**Dragon Masters can command their dragon to do their very will, which is why they are amongst one of the most powerful beings. Few have ever used this power for evil purposes however, and Dragon Masters dedicate themselves to eradicating evil from this world. Most will only reveal their true identity in a time of crisis and danger, where their abilities must be used in order to rid the world of evil. **

**Dragon Masters will train with their dragon, helping it master aerial and ground combat, aerial and ground defense, and the use of the dragon's inner element, fire. Dragon Masters can communicate with their dragons, and the two are tied together in spirit. The dragon will remain faithful to its master for all eternity, and when a dragon or its master dies, the other will cease to exist as well. **

**The only significant milestone in Dragon Master history was a long time ago, back in the days where the Wizarding World was still developing and when Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was founded. That was the only time when Dragon Masters had bonded together throughout the world in order to take down the evil who was known as "the masked one". He who had sought to control the whole Wizarding World was taken down in a battle, where different people from different backgrounds had been marked with brands as those worthy to stand in battle against this evil together with the Dragon Masters.**

**The battle had been won by the side of the good, but there had been so many fatalities that October 31****st**** would always be marked as a tragic day. Even muggles referred to it as "Halloween Day", due to the blood that had tainted the floor on that day. After that battle, Dragon Masters were only spotted few and far between, and it was believed that they would only arise at the time of need. **

**Families with history of Dragon Masters:**

**Malfoy (fell in battle against evil, protecting the one he loved)**

**Slytherin (fell in battle protecting Ravenclaw)**

**Nott (fought for the masked one and fell)**

**Granger (killed herself to be with the one she loved)**

**Longbottom (survived and disappeared after the war)**

**Potter (survived and disappeared)**

**Peverell (survived and lived peacefully for the rest of his days)**

**Prewett (survived and disappeared)**

Draco looked up in shock, meeting Hermione's eyes as she turned around and stared at him. This power had definitely skipped his generation, but to have Hermione's family name on that ancient tome, what are the odds that she could be a Dragon Master? Hermione's family name is the only muggle-born one in the whole list. What are the odds, really?

Hermione's POV:

Hermione stared at the text in complete shock, her mind whirling. _This has to be a mistake, or a coincidence, _she thought to herself, _just last night I had that dream about that dragon calling to me, and today I see this piece of information. Not to mention the shocking fact that my family name is in there. I had no idea Daddy's side of the family had witches/wizards. Could my dream be the start of my Inheritance? My birthday is in a little more than a month. Is this a sign? _

Then she looked more carefully at a certain part of the text, and she nearly jumped out of her seat in shock.

"Severus, Draco, come look at this," she demanded, and the two men walked over to her side.

"Listen, it says here that Dragon Masters had only bonded together once before to defeat an evil known as "The Masked One", who reigned during the Founder's times. It also says that there were people marked as those worthy to face evil together with the Dragon Masters. This sounds suspiciously like our tattoos, since we've also been 'marked'. Also, I don't think this is a coincidence. Just last night, I had a dream about a dragon, and it was calling to me. It lay in a cave somewhere in a forest, but the details are not clear. I'm not sure of it's exact position," she said, feeling slightly uncomfortable under the stares of both the potions master and Draco.

Severus broke the awkward silence between the trio.

"Well," he said, chuckling a little, "now we all know why Hermione is such a know-it-all, because she very well could be a Dragon Master. This piece of information coincides with my suspicions. The last time these tattoos were used, it was during the Founders' Times, and I tried unsuccessfully to find out why they had been used, but this book has given us what we were looking for. According to Wizarding history, "the masked one" was a cruel man who, like Voldemort, tried to eradicate all those who he deemed unworthy to be magical. Unlike Voldemort, however, this man wanted to defeat all those who did not have specific abilities. Those he wanted to 'keep', included Veelas, Vampires, Werewolves, Centaurs, Dragon Masters, Dryads, Elementals, Merpeople and many more magical beings. He had several Dragon Masters on his side, which made him extremely powerful and he was thought to be undefeatable. He was ultimately defeated in battle however, and now we know why."

He stopped for a moment, catching his breath and continued again.

"According to this book, the Dragon Masters bonded together to defeat him once and for all, and the most famous pair of Dragon Masters to ever live was perhaps Orion Malfoy, and Sephamire Granger. They were an unlikely couple, and their dragons were mates. It says here that Orion Malfoy fell in battle taking a killing curse for Sephamire. Sephamire was filled with vengeful fury and she slaughtered, together with her dragon, almost half of all her opponents. Shortly after the battle, she ran into the forest with her dragon and the people didn't see her again until a centaur found her dead body deep in the forest. She had somehow found a spell to sever the tie with her dragon and allow the pregnant dragon to live, while she killed herself with a dagger."

Hermione gasped.

"Curiously, the potions book tells me that the same person who used the potion to bond himself together with his counterpart was also Orion Malfoy, and he made the potion so that Sephamire and himself could be together for all eternity. He wanted to be able to share everything with each other, apparently including each other's pain, so when Orion died Sephamire felt so much pain that she killed herself to be with her true love again."

Hermione went pale. There was a potion involved in all this nonsense, and it had something to do with a Malfoy and a Granger. She could feel herself starting to panic. It was obvious now that Draco was not a Dragon Master like herself, but he was a Veela. What if this was foretelling the future and she would be bonded to Draco for the rest of her life? Her mind was reeling with all the possibilities and she could feel a huge headache coming on. Somewhere in her ancestry existed a witch, and contrary to what she had originally thought, she was not the first Granger to be magical. There had been a Dragon Master in her family, but her father had never told her about this. Either he didn't know, or he hadn't found it important to tell her. Hermione wanted nothing more than to go back to Hogwarts and send a letter to her parents, but she knew it was risky. The owl could easily get intercepted and people might find out that she was a Dragon Master. No, it would be better if she did this when she went back to them during the Christmas break.

Both Hermione and Draco were looking extremely embarrassed, and they avoided eye contact for a long time, even when Severus grabbed the books that he wanted and Hermione borrowed that book on Dragon Masters with Draco's permission. The walk out of the gates was done in silence, and when they had arrived back on Hogwarts grounds, the trio bid hasty goodbyes and made their separate ways back to the castle after an extremely eventful day.

For Hermione, she walked back to school with her nose in the book, and felt someone slam into her from behind. Startled, the book fell onto the floor, but thankfully it was no longer open to the page that she had been reading. She looked up, and to her horror, she realised it was Nott who had slammed into her. She saw him look at her book, before scuttling away without an apology made. _Great, just great, _she thought. _He's going to report to Lucius about this book, but thank god he didn't know what I was reading about. _She quickly gathered up the book and cradled it to her chest. She wanted to run back to her common room, desperate to avoid confrontation. Someone held out a hand to her and she gladly took it, before realising it was Draco and blushing furiously. The two of them walked back to the commons together, neither of them saying a word, but both had the same questions running through their heads.

_A Malfoy and a Granger in love? _

**Somewhere in the outskirts of London…**

"**Lucius, I have information."**

"**Speak. I haven't got all day," he snapped.**

"**It appears the mudblood returned from their little field trip to the manor with a book about magical beings. I don't know what she was reading about so I could not confirm if your suspicions were correct."**

"**Fool," Lucius sneered.**

"**Do you know how important this would be to our plans? If that girl is truly what she is, then we are going to have a lot of trouble on our hands, especially if we are unprepared. If we fall, I will make sure you suffer in the worst way possible. I should have known, getting an amateur to do such a important task, it would never have worked."**

**The figure immediately fell to his knees and looked up to his master.**

"**I'm sorry, master, please, give me another chance." **

**Lucius snarled and mercilessly cast the Cruciatus curse on the figure before him, holding it for 2 minutes before letting him go. **

"**Fine, but one last chance, Nott, and if you fail, you will be replaced. Do I make myself clear?" **

"**Yes my lord, thank you master."**

**Nott bowed once more, though shakily, and left Lucius to his own thoughts.**

**The fireplace burst into life once Nott was out of the room.**

"**Lucius, I have information."**

**Lucius looked over to the fireplace with an almost disinterested gaze.**

"**Ah yes, Severus, old friend, tell me, what do you know?"**

"**Miss Granger, it appears, is a Dragon Master, she has told me of her dreams and the signs are starting."**

"**Excellent. She is quite instrumental to our success. Make sure Draco chooses the right side to be on. Miss Granger will be ours soon."**

"**Of course, Lucius, of course. Do they suspect?"**

"**No. Nott is just another pawn in our game, and once we no longer have any use for him, he will be disposed of," Lucius said darkly.**

**The connection between the two men fizzled out, and once again, just like every single week at this time, Lucius communicated with his master.**

"**Is everything going according to plan?" **

"**Yes, of course, we will have Miss Granger realise her full potential with us soon enough. The others will come into power soon enough. We must ensure that we have the proper measures put into place by then."**

"**Of course. I will ensure Miss Granger learns of her powers, and how to use them most efficiently. The others will also receive help. I have already sent some to the Lovegood girl. Miss Granger is fundamental in our plans. She will help us win this war." **

**He sat down in front of his desk once again and brought out a chess set. He casually flicked a pawn off the board, and brought out two new knights and placed them onto the board. **

"**Yes, yes," Lucius mused to himself, "and soon, everything will be perfect."**


	17. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

**Ohohohoho today's the day that Draco changes into a Veela! Will Hermione be there for him? Or will Draco shut himself up in a room and face the pain alone? Read on and find out! **

**I've decided on writing shorter chapters each time and posting them at a faster time, so that you readers won't forget about the story and what has happened so far. **

**Thank you for the new story favourite: BUTTERCUPISME, jmtopyalq, and caramelapple01 for both story favourite and story follow**** you don't know how much this means to me! Of course finally the lovely Parvati48 for her routine review!**

**Parvati48: Glad you liked how Harry woke Ron up, thought it would be hilarious to make Ron's love of food apparent:D Oh don't worry about this whole Severus on Lucius' side thing, haha. All I can say is, glad you liked Hermione being a Dragon Master and all the new elements coming into play. Everything will come to light soon, and everything may not be what you may have been expected;)**

**PLEASE R&R I BEG YOU I'M ON MY HANDS AND KNEES BEGGING YOU PLEASE JUST PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!**

***er-hem* so anyway…**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter in any way.**

**The Beginning**

**8****th**** September**

Hermione's POV:

Hermione stretched and got out of bed. Yesterday had been mentally exhausting, and she was really glad that she had gone to bed early last night. She took out her planner and mentally noted the important things she would have to do today. She nearly dropped her book when she saw the words that she had neatly printed out before. Today was Draco's birthday, and the day he would come into his Inheritance as a Veela. She knew what she had to do. She would get into his room at around 4pm and use Harry's cloak to cover herself until midnight. Bustling about, she opened drawer after drawer and took out vials of potions, muggle healing salves and revised every single spell that she had learnt to ease his pain.

She gathered everything in her hands and headed into the bathroom. She tried to open the door to Draco's room as softly as possible, and when she saw that nobody was in sight, she hid the items behind his books, under his bed, anywhere where he would likely not visit today. Hermione just needed him not to notice their presence until tonight, for her not to be suspected. She was going to bring in another batch of preparations and spell books later, so she had to get this done now. She quickly exited the room after she was done, hoping that Draco would not notice the minor additions she had made to his room.

Hermione re-entered her own room and stacked up all the books on Veelas that she had borrowed from the library and put them in a neat pile on her bedside table. She mentally checked off what she had already done from her to-do list and satisfied, she headed down for breakfast. When she got there, Harry was looking at her curiously, and Hermione sighed. _That boy never forgets it when he's suspicious of something and wants to pry, _she sighed, _but he always forgets his homework. There's no logic in that. _

"So Hermione, you never did tell us why you had to borrow the cloak," he said.

Ron nodded beside him, suddenly interested in their conversation, but still stuffing his mouth with sausages and shoveling eggs into and chewing everything.

"Yop," he managed to say in between chews, some of the eggs spewing out of his mouth and landing in his drink and of course, his own plate.

Hermione looked slightly disgusted at him, and then said a brief, "later," to Harry, who seemed unsatisfied about having the conversation postponed again.

"But…" the boy-who-lived protested.

Hermione interrupted his sentence.

"I'll talk about the cloak when you talk about your date with Luna. So is it going to be now?" She asked, interjecting and smirking at the same time.

"Touche. I swear, Hermione, Malfoy is already rubbing off on you. You're starting to become quite crafty and sarcasm is definitely making its way into your head," he stated, glaring at her.

Hermione managed a smile back. Truthfully, Harry and Ron had no idea she had really been spending so much time with the Head Boy, but they were going to know soon enough. She just prayed none of them would be impulsive and blow their tops, which is the last thing she would need amidst all this stress. This was partly the reason why she didn't want to talk now. She wasn't so much worried about Harry's reaction, it was Ron's reaction that would perhaps be the most explosive. She was afraid he would get up and make a scene.

"My dorm, after breakfast."

Hermione nodded her head in agreement. _Sounds fair, _she thought. Ron won't be able to kill Draco while he's confined to that room. She made another mental note to ward the room and cast every single locking spell and silencing charm she knew on the room later on. Hermione chanced a glance at Draco and saw him sitting rather stoically at the Slytherin table, gazing off into space and not really paying attention to Pansy who was now waving a hand across his face. Hermione saw his plate was clean, which meant that he hadn't eaten. She frowned slightly. He had the right to be worried, but he should at least eat something. He would have to be strong for tonight's transformation. She withdrew a piece of paper from her bag and scribbled the word '**EAT' **in big bold letters before charming it to fly over to him.

She watched him grab the flying paper crane from the air and unfold it, before folding it back and placing it in his pocket. He looked up and smirked at her, before taking her advice and scooping a little bit of everything into his plate. Hermione looked on with approval, glad that he was listening to her for once. The trio finished their breakfasts in a jiffy and then headed for Harry's dormitories. Hermione was nearly sweating with anxiety at their reactions to Draco being in the prophecy and her helping him out with his Veela transformation.

They entered the room and the two boys immediately made themselves comfortable, whereas Hermione whipped out her wand and being waving it in the air, making complicated gestures, effectively warding the room against any eavesdroppers, and making it safe for two overly angry and protective teenage boys to be in. When she was done and deemed her work to be satisfactory, she placed her wand back into her robes and turned around, meeting the curious gazes of her two best friends.

"What?" She asked, "I can't have you running out and going to kill anyone after I'm done with my story now, can I?"

"But Mione, do you really think we would do something like that," Ron whined.

Hermione gave him a pointed look and he conceded with a glare.

"Yeah, maybe we would," he said, agreeing.

Harry looked torn between laughing at his friends and remaining silent under Hermione's glare.

"So Harry," Hermione said, trying to change the subject, "how was your date?"

Hermione smirked at Harry's discomfort.

"It…well…it was really nice. We went to Hogsmeade and we bought candy, and some books, quills and other stuff. We ate at Madam Puddifoots' and it was really great. We talked about some stuff, and well, I think I'm starting to get to know her a lot before. Yup, that's about it. So Hermione, what did you want to talk to us about?

Hermione scoffed loudly at Harry, while Ron just rolled his eyes, looking disinterested. Evidently Harry had told him the same thing.

"Yeah right Harry, of course that's all there was to your date. Tell me Harry, did you two kiss?" Hermione asked, smirking slightly.

Harry went bright red and Hermione laughed at his discomfort. Even Ron seemed interested in the conversation now.

"I…uh…no…I mean…not really…shejustkissedmeonthecheek."

"What was that Harry? I couldn't hear you," Hermione teased him.

She had heard him loud and clear, but she wanted to make him feel uncomfortable.

"She just kissed me on the cheek after the date okay? Gosh, Hermione you can be so pushy sometimes. If I didn't know better, I'd say Malfoy was rubbing off on you."

Hermione coughed suddenly, choking on the bit of saliva that she was swallowing. Harry had no idea how close he was with that harmless comment.

"Well, Harry, I try," she said, trying to recover slightly.

"Anyway, I needed your cloak yesterday because I went with Draco and Snape to Malfoy Manor."

She paused for dramatic effect and for the news to sink in. Both boys were looking slightly dazed, and when the message finally got through to their brains, the effect was instantaneous. Both of them turned red in the face, and while Harry managed to contain himself, Ron just exploded.

"WHAT?! HERMIONE HOW COULD YOU GO WITH THAT FERRET AND THE SLIMY HAIRED GIT TO MALFOY MANOR OF ALL PLACES? DO YOU KNOW HOW DANGEROUS THAT PLACE IS? AND YOU'RE GOING THERE WITH EX-DEATH EATERS?"

He started rambling and Hermione knew that if she didn't stop him now, he might never shut up and Hermione would never get the chance to explain herself.

"Shut up Ron and listen for a second. I went with him willingly because he needed my help, and I actually found something extremely interesting. I've been getting strange dreams recently and I found an explanation for it in one of Draco's books. You guys can't tell anyone about this, but apparently I'm a dragon master."

"A what?!" Both boys screeched at the same time.

"Honestly, don't you two read?" Hermione asked, rolling her eyes.

She thrust the book that she had borrowed from the Manor's library in front of them and watched as they read through the few paragraphs. Their expressions were quite comical. Their eyes suddenly grew really big at one point and Hermione nearly laughed at loud. They must be reading the part of Orion Malfoy and Sephamire Granger, her own ancestor.

"How…wait what? A Malfoy consorted with a muggle-born. Now that's something I thought I never would see," Harry remarked.

"Actually, yes, I was a little surprised that there was a witch in my family, and she was in love with a Malfoy, but anyway, my point is that I am one of the most hunted-for magical beings out there, so I would appreciate it if you keep it low. Also, the other thing I was going to tell you about is about Draco's Inheritance. I really want you guys to take it easy on him the next few days or weeks if need be, and not get really angry with him if he acts protective."

Both boys looked at her with confusion on their faces and Harry gestured his hand as a sign to ask her to continue on.

"He's a Veela," she blurted out.

Both Harry and Ron's eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets.

"Say what? The amazing bouncing ferret is a Veela? Well no wonder he has all these girls falling over him," Ron exclaimed, shuddering slightly.

"Basically he comes into his Inheritance today, and he's going to need all the help he can get tonight when he changes, so I'm going to need to borrow your cloak and hide in the room so that he doesn't notice me. You see, he doesn't really approve of me attempting to help him, but," she added when she saw the boys' faces, "I am fully prepared and I am confident I can help him and that I have made all the necessary precautions. So don't worry. If he asks where I am, though I doubt he will, tell him that I'm in the library."

Ron looked so red that his face resembled a tomato's, but Harry still seemed relatively calm, although Hermione could sense the gears in his head turning furiously, trying to process the full implications of what she was suggesting. He was probably thinking of every single thing that could go wrong, but Hermione was confident she had all the skills and potions required for Draco to complete the transformation smoothly and as painlessly as could be possible.

"One more thing I wanted you guys to know. I am a potential mate for Draco Malfoy," she stated quite calmly, trying to maintain her cool composure.

Without another word, she walked out. She made sure to set charms to lock the door and ensure they wouldn't be able to get out within the next half an hour. This way, they wouldn't be able to hunt Draco down and rashly pick a fight with him. Hermione knew it was a very Slytherin thing to do, locking them in the room and running away right after telling them an important and shocking piece of news, but she couldn't help it. She was terrified of their reaction, and this was the easiest thing she could do. Maybe Harry was right. Maybe she was getting influenced by Draco Malfoy.

Shrugging, she walked down a flight of stairs and to the library, where she proceeded to spend majority of the afternoon studying and trying to read ahead of the class so that she would be prepared for the next 3 classes at least. When she finally took her nose out of the book, it was already 5pm. _Wow, _she thought, _some things just never change. I still get caught up in my studies that I forget about everything else. _

She had skipped lunch and was now extremely hungry. Her stomach couldn't agree more, constantly growling and Hermione was tempted to just slap it and hope that the rumbling would stop. It would be really awkward if someone in the quiet library heard her. She was surprised Harry and Ron hadn't come to find her, but she supposed they had calmed down and grown up enough to not go overreacting at silly situations like this. No, she didn't suppose…she hoped. _With those boys, _Hermione thought, _you never know. _

Chuckling to herself, she hurried to Draco's room and grabbed the invisibility cloak along the way, throwing it over her as she stepped over to the other room. She also carried various potions and spell books, concealing them with a disillusionment charm as she placed it beside her. Then she carefully wedged herself in the small space between the two bookcases that Draco had and prayed he wouldn't think of stepping there. That would ruin her disguise totally. She then called Winky and asked her to bring some sandwiches to her.

She stayed there, grabbing one of the spell books and starting to practice the wand movements and incantations of the spells she might need to subdue Draco later while munching on her ham and egg sandwich. When she suddenly heard the portrait open and shut, she sat down softly onto the pile of books behind her, staying as still as she could. Estimating the time, she knew that it was approximately 6 now, the start of dinner. She saw from underneath the cloak as Draco walked into the room and cast a furtive look around before shutting the door and locking it with a whole multitude of charms, repeating the same to the bathroom door.

Seemingly satisfied, he took out a pair of handcuffs and cuffed himself to the bedpost. Shocked, Hermione watched as he stretched for a book near him and started reading. Hermione watched his movements and also read a book for the next 5 and a half hours. When the moon had come out fully and the moonlight streamed through the windows and past the curtains, Hermione placed her book down gently, and took her wand out from under the cloak without jostling too much, preparing herself and reciting all the charms once again.

It was with bated breath as she waiting as the minutes ticked by. With every passing minute, Draco grew visibly stiffer, and he curled into a ball, as if bracing himself for the pain. Hermione watched in silent anticipation as she knew the time grew closer.

Draco's POV:

Draco was proud of himself for getting here before Hermione. Vaguely in his mind he wondered whether Hermione was now knocking on his door, but the combination of both dark magic and regular charms would make it impossible for the Gryffindor princess to break through the spells and enter his room during the Changing. This wasn't the time for her to act like a hero; the Changing was extremely dangerous. He would be almost unstoppable, so he had taken all the necessary precautions.

He took out a pair of cuffs that he had borrowed from Blaise. _God, that boy is a nymphomaniac, _thought Draco. He cuffed his wrists onto the bed with great difficulty and stayed there. He managed to flip one of the books nearby by stretching his fingers. He read the book for a long time, taking time to read every single word and reading them aloud to himself in his head. He glanced up from the book after what seemed like a very long time. His neck was stiff and he rolled his head around for a bit, hearing slight cracks. He grew stiffer as each minute passed, and he saw that the moon was directly overhead, signaling to him that the time was near.

He curled into a ball now, knowing that the time was near. Suddenly something rippled from the corner and he nearly shrieked like a girl when Hermione Granger suddenly appeared in thin air and dropped something beside her. _Shit, _Draco thought, cursing to himself, _I forgot she has that damned invisibility cloak. _

"Hermione, what are you doing? Get out. You'll get yourself killed," he hissed.

Hermione just looked him straight in the eye.

"No, I won't. I'm not called the smartest witch of my age for nothing you know? I came prepared," she said, starting to bend down and place vial after vial of potions onto the table. Then she levitated a whole stack of books.

Draco's jaw dropped open. She really did come prepared. There were a whole assortment of different kinds of potions, and some of them were simple. Dreamless sleep draught, pain-relieving potion, but some on the other hand, Draco had never seen before.

"I also practiced a whole bunch of restraint charms and spells to protect myself, so don't worry. I am more than prepared. Besides, I can't get out of your room. I'd have to undo all the charms you placed on the room, and I'm pretty sure I don't know the counter-charms to some of those spells you put up," she stated.

"I…fine. You can stay, but when I get violent, promise me you won't hesitate to hurt me to protect yourself," Draco begged, finding it pointless to argue with Hermione.

"That won't be necessary," Hermione said confidently, "but you have my word."

Draco nodded and was about to ask her about the spells that she had learnt, but he felt pain wrack his body suddenly and he opened his mouth in a silent scream, thrashing against the restraints that held him in place. The Changing had begun.


	18. The Changing

**Author's Note:  
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**This chapter update hopefully came a little earlier than before…hehehehe…right? It would have come earlier, but well…writer's block AND I went for a camp so…hem.**

**Anyway, I know it's not possible for Hermione to know this lullaby, let alone have her mother used to sing it to her, but honestly, this lullaby is so fitting for this situation that I hope you will excuse my use of it. **

**werevampluvr: haha you're welcome! It was the most appropriate place to chop off the chapter so that it wouldn't become too long. Sorry about the cliffy. Hope this chapter makes up for it. Thank you for reviewing! **

**Parvati48: Yes the dramione evidence in this chapter is going to blow your mind hahahahaha:D oh well all will be revealed in time. Once again, thank you for reviewing**

**Thank you for the new story follow BamaCountryGal, PotterFan86, ADotAQuestion! New story favourite: CrazyAvidReader**

**PLS R&R! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I do not own Rue's lullaby either.**

**The Changing**

**8****th**** September**

Draco's POV: 

Draco could feel the Veela in him trying to get out. It was clawing on his insides, and he felt the pain that the changing came with. The book was lying. This much, Draco was sure of. The book described a sensation of intense pain. This sensation of mind-numbing, it was like he was dying. Obviously the author of the book had never actually experienced the changing, and the source he had heard from was lying.

An almost feral roar emitted from his lips as he tried violently to tear away from the cuffs that held him in place. He needed to run, to get away from this pain, to curl up into a ball and rock back and forth, but in this position it was not possible. He was vaguely aware of someone trying shouting at him through the pain-induced haze. He knew it was Hermione Granger, trying to act like a bloody hero. Draco wanted to shout at her to get away, to stay away, before she got hurt, but he couldn't summon the energy to open his mouth.

Everything that came out was a jumble of shrieks, groans, and roars. He tried to resist it, but he could feel his arms rippling as his they started to bulge, and he could feel his clothes tearing as his chest started to broaden. His teeth became fangs and pierced his lips when he tried to keep his mouth closed. His fists clenched but he was unable to keep the claws from extending outwards. He could feel his eyes narrow into slits, and every part of him felt like they were on fire.

Then a crack echoed through the room, and another, and another. Draco let out a pained scream as he felt the bones in his back reshuffling, and suddenly his skin was moving, reforming itself as a pair of wings sprouted from behind his back. They extended fully, with a little blood dripping down them, as Draco kept writhing from the pain. His senses became heightened, with his now-pointed ears and the two holes he had for a nose. He felt like a werewolf. The bed rattled as his Veela instincts took over. He tried to stop breathing to prevent himself from seeking out his mate, so that the Veela would not try to take over his body and tear the whole room apart trying to get out. It didn't work.

The Veela seemed more desperate, more enraged, and the headboard of the bed nearly came off as Draco tugged and yanked at the restraints. The frame of the bed creaked warningly under his increased weight, as he continued his attempts to run forward. When he finally allowed himself to breathe again, he found himself feeling oddly comforted. The Veela in him seemed to stop resisting, and Draco nearly heaved a sigh of relief, before it came back in full vengeance again. This time, it succeeded in tearing the headboard off, before the Veela barreled around the room, knocking down various pieces of furniture, and Draco found himself running blindly around, before he felt a painful sting and yelped.

He turned around and started growling at his attacker, and slowly advanced, his eyes narrowed into blood-red slits and his posture intimidating. His fangs were showing threateningly, and his wings were fluttering slightly. Bright flashes of light continued to shoot towards him, but none of them seemed to faze him. He made his way towards the cowering figure, and raised his claw, prepared to swipe it down, but then he paused as he took a deep breath.

The smell was so sweet. It smelt of a combination of honey, cinnamon, vanilla, and all the most delightful things in the world. Draco could smell the blood pounding in the veins of the person, and it was so deliciously musical. Draco opened his eyes now; they had been shut before in a blind rage. He was met by the most beautiful sight. Hermione Granger sat in the corner of the room, shaking slightly with her wand pointed towards him. Her hair was matted and her wand was pointed towards him, and it was such a beauty that it took all of Draco's willpower not to leap onto her and start marking her. Instead, he lowered his raised hand and started to sniff at her delicately. He frowned when he saw a cut on her forehead, and he lowered his head until it was level with hers, licking gently at her wound.

Satisfied when the trickle of blood stopped, he relaxed his stance and sat down next to Hermione, his wings curling protectively over her form, gathering her figure towards himself. His arms wrapped around her shoulders and waist, holding her to his chest. He snuffled into his neck, his pain forgotten for now as he breathed in the sweet scent of the girl.

"Open up," her gentle voice floated over to him.

He found himself obeying her immediately, opening his mouth and allowing her to pour something down his throat. He gagged at the taste, nearly spitting the liquid out, but he swallowed, his face showing his disgust. Almost immediately, he felt the pain numb and he gave a content sigh, snuggling deeper into Hermione's neck. Within minutes, he fell asleep, lulled by the soft singing voice of the beautiful girl beside him.

Hermione's POV:

Hermione watched in horror as he thrashed the room, and various books fell to the floor and tore underneath his sharp claws. She had never seen anything like this. He was almost as dangerous as a werewolf, and Hermione was suddenly afraid. The furniture rattled as he crashed into them, sending things flying all over the place. He was going to destroy the entire place if she didn't stop him. Thinking quickly, she sent a quick spell towards him. It was a simple stinging hex, as she didn't want to hurt him too badly. She distinctly heard his yelp as he whirled around. She thought he might stop, and come to his senses. She had hoped that his human side would be strong enough to overpower his Veela side, but she was wrong.

Draco stalked towards him like a predator would stalk its prey, and Hermione could see the thirst in his eyes. This wasn't Draco any longer. This was the Veela inside him acting. She unconsciously cowered into a corner, and found that she could no longer back away from him any longer. She quickly scanned the area to search for an escape, but she couldn't find any. Terrified that Draco was going to maul her, Hermione began to shoot off some offensive spells. Jelly-legs, petrifying, stupefying: none of them worked against Draco. She had to hold herself back, preventing her fear from driving her. If she did, she would most likely have resorted to more damaging spells.

He was right in front of her now, and Hermione could feel his breath on his face. She was trembling now, but she still refused to fire any terrible spells towards the advancing Draco. He stood in front of her, leaning down, baring his fangs, and Hermione closed her eyes, afraid of what was going to happen next. Then suddenly, the breath was gone from her face, and she peeked her eyes open slightly.

Draco's entire demeanor looked different all of a sudden. He was no longer acting defensive. Instead, he seemed to relax entirely, and his nose started twitching slightly as he started to sniff the air. He opened his now red eyes, staring directly into Hermione's eyes, shocking her slightly as his gaze seemed like a mixture of lust and…was that adoration? Then he came closer, and Hermione tried to back away even more, but was met with the wall instead.

Terrified, she looked as Draco's face became closer, and closer, and closer till it was an inch away from hers. Opening his mouth, Hermione shut her eyes, afraid that Draco was going to snap at her. To her surprise, she felt something wet and warm on her face. She opened her eyes and realised that Draco was licking a cut on her forehead. She had gotten it when she scrambled in a frenzy to get away from Draco, hitting her forehead accidentally on the table edge when she scooted backwards. Then, he pulled away and suddenly her face felt cold, and she shivered slightly from the loss of contact.

She felt Draco sit down next to her, and then his wings came curling around her body, and it was the most protective, wondrous feeling Hermione had ever felt. Draco brought his arms around her body, pulling her towards him and then snuffling at her neck. A blush rose up in her cheeks as she realised the contact that they were now having. She felt so safe in his arms, as if nothing would be able to harm her here, and then suddenly she realised that she was being selfish. Draco definitely had to be still in pain. The book said the pain would leave only after the whole night, so Hermione grabbed the pain potion from beside her, thanking all her lucky stars it was so conveniently placed nearby.

"Open up," she said gently to Draco.

To her surprise, he did, obediently, and she poured the contents of the vial into his mouth. She heard him let out a sigh and curl into her neck deeper, his hold on her tightening ever so slightly. Hermione knew he was tired, so she did the only thing she knew to lull him to sleep. _Sing. _She sang a lullaby that her mother used to sing to her when she was younger.

_Deep in the meadow, under the willow_

_A bed of grass, a soft green pillow_

_Lay down your head, and close your sleepy eyes_

_And when again they open, the sun will rise_

_Here it's safe, here it's warm_

_Here the daisies guard you from every harm_

_Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true_

_Here is the place where I love you_

_Deep in the meadow, hidden far away  
>A cloak of leaves, a moonbeam ray<br>Forget your woes and let your troubles lay  
>And when again it's morning, they'll wash away. <em>

_Here it's safe, here it's warm  
>Here the daisies guard you from every harm<br>Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true  
>Here is the place where I love you. <em>

By the end of the lullaby, Hermione could feel Draco's even and deep breathing on her neck, and she knew that he had fallen asleep. She was feeling a little sleepy now, after all the excitement of the day, and so she surrendered to her exhaustion and allowed the lull of sleep to pull her under. Together, the two fell asleep in that corner, their heads leaning against each others', as they slept together in that position throughout the night, and surprisingly, neither of them were awoken abruptly at night by nightmares.

Minerva's POV:

Minerva walked the corridors towards the Head's common room. She entered the portrait after communicating with the people in the portrait for a bit. The Heads didn't know who they were, but Minerva did. They were the previous pair of Slytherin and Gryffindor heads, and they had unexpectedly fallen in love. If Hermione and Draco knew who they were, no doubt they would feel extremely awkward around each other, since there were so many signs pointing towards them being together in the prophecy.

She knew Draco's Changing was today, a piece of information she had gotten from Severus Snape. Sometimes Severus gave her the feeling that he was a Slytherin through and through. He was so loyal to the people he cared about, that he was extremely reluctant to give away Draco's birth date to her, even after she told him it was for Draco's own good and that Albus had requested it. She disillusioned herself and snuck into the head's common room early, and she entered Draco's room. She made sure his room was relatively safe from any objects that might have been placed there by an enemy, and though she found none, she spotted some carefully hidden vials of potions and spell books. She chuckled softly to herself. Albus had informed us that Hermione might sneak into Draco's room to help him after she knew about his Changing, and now, Minerva wondered how Albus always managed to get his predictions to be right.

Instead of hiding in a space between the bookshelves, where she knew Hermione would hide later on, she opted to stand at the little corner between the door to the bedroom and the one to the bathroom. Staying there silently, she reached into the pockets of her robes and pulled a small book out, putting on her reading glasses and started immersing herself in the world of words. Yes, she was now reading a book written by a muggle author. She was reading 'Black Beauty", one of the classics, and it was fantastic. She almost didn't realise it when Hermione bustled into the room hurriedly. Although Minerva couldn't see the girl, since Hermione was hidden under the Invisibility cloak, she could see the edge of the books sticking out from underneath her cloak.

Minerva bent her head down and continued to read her book, ignoring everything happening around her. Not that there was anyway. Throughout the time before midnight, Hermione had fallen asleep long ago and Draco had come in and placed countless spells on the door. She noted that some of them was Dark Magic, while others were just simple charms like Silencio. The most interesting thing that had happened was that Draco used muggle handcuffs to hold himself to the bed. Minerva shuddered to think where he had gotten those. Obviously wizards would never need to use these objects to apprehend criminals, so she was slightly uncomfortable, as she knew the use of this gadget in the Wizarding World.

She was also slightly surprised at the fact that he took so many measures to restrain himself. Minerva knew that the more restraints he put on himself, the more painful the Changing was going to be. Minerva nearly chuckled out loud when she saw the look on Draco's face when Hermione revealed herself. Clearly, the Slytherin had underestimated the stubborn, determined Gryffindor once again. Even Minerva herself had her jaw hanging slack when she saw all the equipment Hermione had brought along with her. She looked like a walking hospital wing, with dozens of different potions and spell books.

Minerva cringed as Draco started changing into his Veela form. She had never seen a Veela Changing process before, but now she was sure it was worse than when werewolves turn during a full moon. The crunching sound of his bones reshuffled when his wings sprouted was audible in the room, and his features changed drastically. There was something feral about him, and now, Minerva feared for Hermione. Yes, that girl was smart and no doubt she would have come prepared with a large assortment of spells to choose from, but were any of those spells actually effective? She was right to be afraid.

The Veela thrashed around the room, having managed to escape from its restraints. Several times Minerva had to hold her breath as the Veela sniffed around her area, and she prayed to Merlin above that Draco's keen Veela senses would not be able to detect her. Eventually, Draco no longer seemed interested in where Minerva was standing. Instead, it headed straight for Hermione, and Minerva was right. The spells Hermione fired towards Draco were just ricocheting off his back without any damage. The spells were all not extremely harmful, but in normal circumstances, it would have given Draco some pause. Minerva really wanted to interfere by revealing herself and drawing the Veela's attention towards herself instead, but she remembered Dumbledore telling her not to interfere and stopped herself from doing something she might regret.

Then just as Dumbledore had predicted, everything was fine. The presence of Hermione had soothed Draco, and in that moment Minerva knew Hermione was Draco's mate. Only the mate of Draco could have this kind of effect the Veela. When Draco started huddling closer to Hermione, Minerva almost felt her heart burst into little fluffy clouds. The moment was so sweet that if technology worked in Hogwarts, she would have taken a picture of them with a camera. Hermione was singing softly to Draco as if she would to a baby and then the both of them slowly drifted off to sleep next to each other.

Minerva softly cast a warming charm so that the two students would not get cold in the middle of the night. Slowly, she padded out of the room as softly as possible after deactivating all of the enchantments on the door. Before she stepped fully out of the dormitories, she turned and glanced back at the sleeping lovers once more.

_Ah, young love. _


	19. Awkward Conversations

**Author's Note:**

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**8****th**** September **

Chapter 19: Awkward Conversations

Hermione's POV:

Hermione awoke to a soft puff of breath directed towards her ears, tickling the insides of them terribly. She tried to shift her position but realised that her limbs were stiff, and so was her back. Groaning, she tried to shake the lactic acid out from her hand, but the ache still remained. Her neck seemed to have suffered the worst, but she guessed this was what she would get for sleeping on the floor for the entire—wait she was sleeping on the floor? She jerked her head up from the warm surface it had been resting on, letting out another groan as pain assaulted her neck. Stiffly, she forced her limbs to move and she scooted away from the character beside her.

When she had gone as far as she could—her back hitting the wall, she peered curiously at the boy she had been leaning against. If Hermione had no memories of last night and how she got here, she would never have guessed that the figure was Draco Malfoy. _He's so different, _she mused, _his hair is now sleeker than ever, and his skin is fair, not the unhealthy shade of pale he used to be. He's so…hot. _Then she blushed immediately after thinking that naughty thought. _Hermione Jean Granger, _she scolded herself, _why are you looking at Draco that way?_

She shook her head, smiling slightly at her girly thoughts, before walking forward to shake Draco awake.

"Hey Draco, wake up. Come on, wake up."

Draco groaned and opened his eyes, and Hermione gasped. They were beautiful before, but now they were just drop-dead gorgeous. His eyes were a piercing shade of silver, and they were so deep that Hermione found herself leaning in, wanting to sink into the depths of his mesmerizing orbs.

"Granger. Don't drool. It's unbecoming of a lady," he teased.

"I'm not drooling," Hermione feebly retorted, blushing as she was caught staring at Draco.

"It's okay Granger. There's nothing shameful about staring. After all, who could resist this delicious body?"

Hermione flushed a deep red. In her mind she was completely agreeing with him, but on the outside, she tried to play it off by smacking him lightly on the chest with the back of her hand. _Wow he sure looks good, I wonder if he looks this good on the outside, how does he look with his shirt—stupid stupid Hermione! Don't think like that. This is Draco Malfoy. Repeat after me Hermione. Draco Malfoy is an egotistical ass. Okay. Draco Malfoy is an egotistical ass._

After she had finished calming her raging female hormones down, she helped Draco up, watching him grimace slightly at the tightness of his limbs. He got up, holding onto her hands for support, and Hermione thought her wrists might break from the force applied on them. When she removed his grip on her, she could see marks on her skin, made by his fingers. She rubbed her wrist in pain. Evidently Draco's Veela strength had kicked in.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. It's nothing," she said, furiously trying to hide her bruised wrist behind her back.

"Let me see."

With inhuman strength, he snatched her hand from its position and held it in front of his face. Hermione gave a yelp when he abruptly yanked her hand forward, and the sudden forceful tug caused her pain in her biceps. Shocked, Draco muttered apologies, and then continued to examine her hand.

Draco's POV:

"Who did this to you Hermione," he asked, trying to keep the fury hidden from his voice.

He didn't know why he felt so enraged about the fact that Hermione had gotten hurt, but he did. He couldn't explain the sudden protectiveness over Hermione, but he could feel small pangs of pain in his heart, like he was hurt over the fact that Hermione had been hurt.

"Uh…nobody. It's nothing really, Draco."

"Nothing? This isn't nothing. Look," he said, grabbing onto her wrist, "evidently someone grabbed you too hard here. Who is it? Tell me and I'll make them pay."

He gently ran his thumb over the bruises, trying to soothe the pain he could feel she was experiencing.

"It's…it's you Draco. But it's not your fault," she hastened as she saw his face fall, "you just came into your Veela abilities and extraordinary strength is one of them. Don't worry about it really."

Draco felt exceedingly guilty at the fact that he had hurt Hermione. Even if it had been unintentional, he had still done it to the girl that had helped him last night and soothed him.

"I'm really sorry. God Hermione I'm so sorry I didn't know about the amount of strength I possessed. If I had I would never have done it I swear," he said, upset.

Hermione just shushed him and accepted his apology.

"It's no big deal. I know you didn't mean it Draco."

Hearing his name come out from his mouth just gave Draco a really delicious feeling bubbling in his chest. He still felt guilty for hurting her though. _Will it work, _he asked himself. Draco decided that it wouldn't hurt to try, and if he succeeded, he would be able to get rid of both the ugly blemish on her skin and the pain that came with it.

"Do you trust me? Can…can I try something?" He asked, unsure.

Hermione hesitated for a moment before nodding, and Draco took this as an indication that he could proceed. As gently as he could, he cradled her wrist in his hands and held it up to his face. He studied for a moment, unsure if he should continue. Tentatively, his tongue darted out and touched her flesh, and then started gently licking the bruise. It worked. The bruise disappeared almost immediately after and Hermione retrieved her hand and stared at it in shock.

"It's gone," she muttered, awestruck, turning her hand around and around and trying to look at it under the light.

"Yeah…I discovered this last night. You had a pretty nasty cut on your forehead, and after I…uh…licked it, it healed instantly, so I figured I would try it on this and see if it worked," he reasoned, sounding extremely awkward.

To his surprise, Hermione giggled slightly. Then she started laughing hard and started doubling over, clutching her stomach as she wheezed in pain from her aching muscles. Although Draco had no idea why she was laughing, her laughter was so contagious that after a few minutes, Draco joined her and together they had a laughing fit that lasted for almost 3 minutes. By the end of it, both of them were in tears, still letting out the occasional bark of laughter.

Suddenly, Draco stiffened and sniffed the air.

"What's that delicious vanilla smell?"

Hermione tried to detect the scent, but she just didn't seem to be able to smell the slightest hint of vanilla.

"That's strange. I don't own any kind of vanilla products. Not hair gel, not shower cream, nothing. This room is so far away from the kitchen I doubt that it's wafting from there. So where could it be coming from?"

Hermione blushed suddenly and Draco turned to look at her.

"You may not own something with vanilla, but I do. I use a shampoo that has a vanilla scent," she confided in him.

Draco stepped closer to her and lifted a few strands of her hair, bringing them closer to his nose and sniffing them delicately. The smell of vanilla was even stronger here, and Draco found himself unconsciously burying his entire face into her hair and nuzzling into the soft curls, only to find Hermione jerking back uncomfortably.

"I'm sorry…I…uh…I got to go. I just remembered that I have a…uh…Potions assignment I forgot to do," Hermione said, lying.

"Potions? Severus didn't assign us any homework."

"Oh did I say Potions? Well how silly of me. I have an Ancient Runes essay due on Monday and I simply must get started on it. Please let me out."

Draco sighed.

"Hermione, you're terrible at lying. Just tell me what the problem is and I'll let you out."

"I…uh…well…it's clear that you have heightened senses, and for some reason they are extremely sensitive when you're near me, so what are the odds that I'm your mate, and if I am, what am I going to do? I need to think Draco, I need some time to clear my head. Do you think you could give me that?"

Draco just flushed slightly and nodded, stepping forward and waving his wand, dispelling all the protective spells he had put up the last night. It was clear that the Veela had taken an instant liking to Hermione, and Draco didn't know what to make of that. This changes everything. _Maybe a little time alone or with Blaise would be good. I need to think things through, and maybe interact with some other females, like Pansy, so that I can see if this behaviour with Hermione is anything special, _he thought.

He held open the door for her and let her pass through.

"Thank you for helping me Hermione," he said sincerely. "It was very much appreciated. I will clear your belongings for you from this room and place them back into your own room after this. Thank you once again."

Hermione turned slightly red.

"You're welcome. See you later."

"Yeah. I'll…uh…see you later too. Bye?"

"Yeah of course…uh…see you—I mean bye."

With that, the conversation ended and Hermione walked away, clearly frazzled. Draco ran a hand through his hair and decided that the first place to start all his thinking would be in the bathroom. A nice hot shower would help calm his nerves and hopefully provide a solution to the bizarre fact that Hermione Granger was almost definitely his mate.

Harry's POV:

Harry sat in shock on his bed, just playing the words Hermione had said to him over and over in his head. Hermione was working with Malfoy and Snape. Hermione was working with Malfoy and Snape. The more he told this to himself, the more ridiculous it sounded. He needed answers, and he needed them now. He needed to speak to the Headmistress after this, to ask if Dumbledore had any idea what was going on with the prophecy.

Ron had wanted to run right out of the door once Hermione had left, no doubt to track her down and force some more information out of her, but it had been futile. Hermione Granger had put up so many layers of charms to keep them in the room that there was no way Harry and Ron could break them down. Harry knew it was designed to keep them in the room till they had calmed down, and right now, Harry was extremely calm, just sitting on the bed and planning what he wanted to ask McGonagall after this. Ron, however, was the direct opposite. He was still pacing around the room, muttering to himself as he ran his fingers through his red hair. His cheeks were no longer as red as before, but they were still tinged pink, and obviously he hadn't completely calmed down yet. Ron was still plotting to kill "the pompous pure-blood ferret", as he had so eloquently put it, but Harry wasn't listening.

"Harry, what do you think? I think it's brilliant mate. We just sneak into his room, disguised as that pug Parkinson and Greengrass, and try to seduce him to get some information about what he was planning to do for Hermione. It'll be perfect," he exclaimed.

Harry rolled his eyes. Sometimes Ron was extremely dense.

"Ron, Parkinson and Malfoy broke things off a long time ago. Besides, who is going to brew the polyjuice potion for us? It was Hermione who did it before, and we are completely incapable of doing it ourselves. Who knows? We might end up with cat hair or something. Plus, if Hermione finds out, we're done for. Our friendship will be over for not trusting her. I'm sure Hermione can handle herself perfectly well, and as much as I'd like to say Malfoy and Snape were plotting to harm her, I can't, because Snape has proved himself to be loyal to us during the war. Let's just leave it alone for now, alright?"

Ron huffed and pouted like a child.

"Fine."

Harry sighed, content. For the umpteenth time, Harry got up and walked over to the door, hoping that the enchantments would be down. It had already been a long time since Hermione had left, and the spells should be deactivated any moment now. This time, the knob turned and the door swung open in front of Harry. Smiling, he made to step outside the door to find McGonagall, but Ron's voice stopped him.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to find McGonagall to ask if she knows anything about the prophecy that we should be prepared for, and anything that might help us take down the dark side."

"Whoa you're still as serious as ever huh. Oh well, as your faithful sidekick, I'll join you to protect you, oh mighty boy-who-lived," Ron laughed.

Harry rolled his eyes, but allowed himself a small chuckle. Ron truly was childish at times, but it was good for him, seeing how he was constantly stressed out ever since he heard that the dark side had become more active again. Gesturing to Ron, the both of them hurried out of the Gryffindor commons and made their way down the winding staircases. Together, they stood outside the statue guarding the Headmistress' office, the both of them taking turns to guess what the password could be.

"Chocolate Frog."

"Bamboozling Baboons."

"Ron. That's not going to be it. Lemon Drop."

"Grumbling goblins."

"Ron, please stop attempting alliteration. Cockroach Clusters."

"Fine. Voldemort."

"RON! That's not going to be it. Animagus."

"Terrible Thestrals."

"Ron, I said stop it. Albus Dumbledore."

"Oh I know! Snivellus."

"Ron, dear Merlin it's not going to be—"

Harry's sentence was cut off as with a loud groan, the gargoyle statue shifted aside and granted them entrance. Harry's jaw was hung slack at the sheer absurdity of the password. McGonagall's password was Snivellus? He shook his head at Ron doing a victory jig and climbed up one step, allowing the revolving phoenix to bring him up as he walked up the winding staircase.

When he stepped into the magnificent room, Harry was surprised to find that not much had been changed. There were still rows and rows of neatly arranged tomes, and the mahogany desk was right in the centre of the room. The only thing missing from the whole picture was Fawkes the phoenix, who had disappeared ever since Dumbledore had retired from Hogwarts. There was no doubt that Fawkes had followed his owner to wherever Dumbledore was residing now. Nobody knew where the wise old wizard had gone to, but there were many rumours that he was hiding somewhere where all the dark wizards wouldn't find him.

Minerva was sitting behind the table, her glasses at the tip of her nose as she scribbled furiously away on a piece of parchment, her black owl perched faithfully in front of her desk on one of the chairs. She looked up as they came in, and with a speed extraordinary to a woman her age, she stashed the parchment in one of the drawers and calmly put her quill and bottle of ink aside.

"Ah, Mr Potter and Mr Weasley, nice to see you. I have been expecting you. Albus told me that you would no doubt have questions. Come in and take a seat. Make yourself comfortable."

Harry and Ron sat down on two of the armchairs in front of the table and Harry immediately focused his attention on the headmistress, whereas Ron was looking around the office in awe. Ron hadn't come here much, not like Harry, who came here so often he could almost memorise every little detail of the room.

"Biscuit?"

Harry was struck by a sense of déjà vu as he reached out and pulled a biscuit from the tin container. She had firmly demanded that he had a biscuit after he shouted at Umbridge and called her a liar a few years ago. He took a biscuit this time, afraid that he was going to be forced to do so anyway. He watched from the corner of his eye as Ron eagerly took hold of the biscuit tin and started reaching his hand into it, grabbing three biscuits and popping them into his mouth at one go. Harry grimaced.

"Mmm…thwese arsh gweat eadmitress," Ron spoke, spewing bits of crumbs onto the table.

Harry turned and glanced at the Headmistress with an apologetic expression. She just waved him off and ignored the fountain of biscuit bits that were now raining over her papers.

"So, what did you want to enquire about, Mr Potter? And please, call me Minerva from now on. I believe we are now at that certain point where we can call each other by our names."

Harry nodded.

"Alright, but you have to call me Harry," he said, grinning.

Minerva smiled at him.

"Anyway, I wanted to ask you if you knew anything about the prophecy, anything we could do to help, and the involvement of Hermione and Malfoy, as well as Sn—Professor Snape," he corrected, deciding not to beat around the bush.

Minerva's POV:

Minerva stiffened and paled slightly.

"Well," she said, stretching out the word and chose her words carefully, "Hermione and Mr Malfoy are both in the prophecy. As you may know by now, Mr Malfoy is a Veela, and Hermione is his potential mate. What Hermione is, she may already have told you. She is a Dragon Master, an ability that few witches or wizards possess. I…I did not know that Professor Snape was involved in this, and as to anything you can do to help, there is nothing as of now. We cannot do anything except increase our vigilance and protect one another."

Minerva hated lying to her students, much less one of her closest students, but it had to be done. She could not reveal much about the prophecy, as Albus had not told her much. Even when he did, he spoke in riddles, and it was all very difficult to understand. Truthfully, though, Albus had not said much about Severus, only that she should be more observant towards him. When Minerva had pressed for more details, Albus refused to speak, and merely changed the subject.

"Yes Hermione has told us about her lineage, and the fact that Malfoy is a Veela, but do you know what the chances are that they could be soul mates?"

Minerva gulped inwardly.

"I…well…I wouldn't know."

Minerva saw Harry's eyes glint, and she knew he wasn't satisfied.

"Oh really? But _Headmistress, _I think you know something about Hermione and Snape you're not telling us, but our _dearest Headmistress _wouldn't lie to us now would she?"

Minerva felt the urge to tell him everything, and so she relented, but only partially. After all, Albus didn't say anything about not telling the golden boy about these kinds of things. However, she kept the part about Severus to herself. _That boy already has too much to worry about, and he has never really trusted Severus, it would be better not to tell him, _she reasoned to herself.

"Well, I…fine. The chances of Hermione and Draco being soul mates is almost 100%, but I really don't know anything about Professor Snape."

Harry stared into her eyes for a long time, and this time she swallowed and stared bravely back. She could feel cold sweat starting to form on her forehead, but thankfully before they could show, Harry broke their gaze and sank back into his chair. He seemed to accept what she had told him, and when he finally pushed his chair backwards and signaled to Mr Weas—Ron to leave, she heaved a quiet sigh of relief.

Ron stood up slowly and glanced between Harry and herself, seemingly reluctant to put down the biscuit tin. When Harry gestured for him to leave, he did so with a sad sigh and followed Harry out.

"Thank you Minerva."

At that point, Minerva could have sworn she heard James Potter, but the reality was that James was dead, and this was his son Harry Potter speaking. She managed a weak smile back at Harry.

"You're welcome Harry. Anytime."

When they finally stepped outside of the office, Minerva slumped back against her chair. Usually, she wasn't this uptight, but she now lacked her usual poise. She was exhausted from their albeit short conversation. Picking up her quill, she finished up her letter to Albus, reporting all her findings about Hermione and Draco to him, and her loyal owl Hawthorn came forward and she tied the letter to her leg.

As the owl flew away, Minerva stood in front of the open window, watching as Hawthorn became a speck in the horizon. Sighing, she shut the window before a strong gust of wind blew all her papers around the room and walked slowly back to the desk. Collapsing onto her comfortable chair, she took off her glasses and placed them onto the table, running her hand over her face as she did so. She could already feel the wrinkles on her skin. Managing this school was hard work.


	20. Sketching

**dAuthor's Note:**

**Sorry about the late update. I just finished all my major tests so I should be able to update more often now. **

**Warning: This chapter has fluff in it that might make your heart burst into little fluffy pink clouds and you to start hyperventilating due to the cuteness overload. You have been warned. Dramione moment here, and if I may say so myself, it is extremely sweet!**

**memorable1102: Thank you lovely!**

**Innocent Serenity: Thank you so much! You're so sweet and it means so much to me!**

**karaburnes: Thank you for the amazing review. I love how my story got you hooked, but I'm slightly apologetic that you didn't get anything done at work…slightly. I'm glad you liked it, and I'm happy I made your Monday better!**

**Downright Darius: Thank you for the lovely review! Well just to clarify, the dragon isn't Hermione's mate, it's more like a friend that you can telepathically talk to. I would call the dragon Hermione's family. No worries lol Draco won't have to kill off the dragon. **

**Parvati48: I missed your reviews darling**** Thank you so much for the encouragement as usual!**

**Thank you for the new followers: memorable1102, lostgirl888, Blackdragons27, cszolee, Beka Copper, mythzzrosenov, JenP10, Innocent Serenity, karaburnes, terraXbbXFAN2, Sailor2Moon! Love you guys!**

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**8****th**** September**

Chapter 20: Sketching

Hermione's POV:

Hermione Granger walked down the hallways, before exiting the building and wandering out into the courtyard. She was heading down to her thinking spot, right underneath a gigantic oak tree in front of the Lake. In her hands she clutched a pencil, an eraser, and a sketchbook. She loved coming down here to sketch. The view of the lake and the surrounding forest was breathtaking, and as Hermione leaned her back against the thick trunk of the oak tree, she found herself just gazing out at the lake, watching the Giant Squid fly out of the water and back into it. This was her thinking spot, her hideaway when she wanted some alone time to clear her mind.

She gently placed her sketchbook next to her and relaxed completely against the tree. This tree was a lot different from the other trees at the fringe of the forest. This tree was older, wiser. It had witnessed the wonders of young love. Couples had flocked here and kissed underneath this tree, while gazing out at the sunset or the sunrise, usually cuddling and murmuring sweet nothings into each other's ears. There was proof right here on the trunk and the ground, where initials had been carved onto the bark and the hard earth. Nowadays though, nobody came to visit it and the tree became a solitary hideout for one Hermione Granger.

She loved to sit here with her sketchbook, armed with a pencil as she sketched out the picturesque scene in front of her. She had accumulated many drawings from the past years, and as she flipped through them, she saw that no two drawings were exactly the same. There was always something different about the scene she was faced with, even though she was always facing the same direction. In one, there was a new couple sitting at the water edge, laughing and tickling each other. In another, there was a solitary boy sitting on a bench facing the lake. Hermione remembered him to be Draco Malfoy, in the year where he had brought the Death Eaters into the school. He had been crying, she remembered, his shoulders heaving, but the Hermione then was slightly afraid, and had not approached him, but her picture captured his posture exactly the way he had seemed; hopeless and full of despair.

There was one right after the war had taken place, and when she was taking a break from refurbishing the school, she had slipped away from her friends and come here. She had been surprised to find the tree still standing, as many had been destroyed by powerful hexes during the battle. It was almost unscathed, but there was a slight slash diagonally on its trunk. That picture was the most dark, the most unrest. The lake wasn't quite shining like it was now, instead it was murky, and the shadows that the trees cast on it seemed to be darker somehow.

Now though, it was a view no artist wanted to miss. There were birds singing, and she could just see a few tentacles sticking out of the water's surface. Opening up her sketchbook to a fresh page, she began to draw, her pencil flying across the paper as she took occasional glances up at the scenery in front of her. She wanted this picture to be absolutely right. It was close to sunset when she was finally satisfied with her work, and she tiredly placed the sketchbook down again, drawing her knees tighter towards her body and resting her chin on them.

They were aching slightly now, having been in the same position for too long a time, but Hermione didn't regret it. Drawing always helped her take her mind off of things, and now that she didn't have anything to occupy herself with, she found all the thoughts that had been forgotten mere minutes ago rushing back into her head. She sat there for a long time, thinking about Draco and what this meant for her. She weighed a list of pros and cons in her head. Then when she had come to a conclusion about that, she leaned back and sighed, closing her eyes for a fraction of a second, before they snapped open, remembering about the piece of text she had read in Malfoy Manor just yesterday.

She had forgotten all about it, and when she looked at the Forbidden Forest, she had this strange feeling at the pit of her stomach, almost as if something was calling to her. It was quite weak, and she dismissed it as a mere hallucination, but she knew she had to ask her parents for answers. She resolved that she would send a letter to them right before she went to bed tonight, but for now, she wanted to just enjoy the serenity that this spot gave to her, before she went back into the castle and confronted the real world again.

She must have fallen asleep somehow while letting the cool breeze caress her face, because when she opened her eyes again, the sun was already set and darkness was starting to fill the sky. The moon hung overhead as she shivered from the cold. It was a full moon tonight, and Hermione could hear faint howls deep in the forest. With a pang, she remembered Remus and Tonks, and tears slipped down her cheeks as she recalled the life they never continued to live and all the experiences they were missing.

The tears were coming fast now. She thought about all the casualties both the Light and the Dark side had faced, all the innocent people that had been killed in the war because of one deranged man whose head was full of nothing but lies. Then she wept about all the bravery and sacrifice she had witnessed during the battles, and finally she cried for the loss of innocence, particularly for one Draco Malfoy. She hugged herself and thought about the boy who had been forced to make all the choices that influenced his life, and she blamed herself for not being able to help the poor misguided boy.

Suddenly something warm draped around her, and she turned to see that Draco was standing behind her, and his coat was now sitting warmly around her shoulders. He sat down next to her and gently wiped her tears away, gathering her in his arms as sobs broke free once more. She cried about the man who now sat next to her, and all the problems and chaos that was now threatening to return. She cried about what the prophecy could mean, and how many lives would be at stake now that the dark side was at large again. She cried for the muggle couple who had lost their lives and died without knowing anything that was going on. She cried for the lives they never got to live, the times they would never get to spend with each other in the mortal world together. All the experiences they would miss out on. Pregnancy. Childbirth. Growing old together. She buried her head into Draco's chest as she shook, relishing in the comfort that his warmth gave her. His hands were stroking her back now, and Hermione felt her eyelids growing heavier as her sobs reduced to mere hiccups, and her eyelids drooped in exhaustion as she succumbed to sleep.

Draco's POV:

Draco let the napping girl lean heavily on his side as he removed his hands from her shoulders and stretched his legs out, lightly shuffling backwards until his back hit a tree trunk. He was careful not to jostle Hermione however, because he knew how much she needed sleep. This had been an emotionally taxing day for him as well, and he could not begin to imagine how confused and scared Hermione was feeling now. He had just found out that she was his mate, and that was already enough to put him on edge. Sighing, he placed his arm around her waist, the action feeling so comfortable and right. He let his head fall back against the rough bark and sighed, exhaling a puff of air through his mouth. He then inhaled a deep breath of fresh air into his nostrils, and he felt instantly soothed at the familiar scent of his mate.

A part of Draco was still a little worried about his reputation, and he was slightly afraid of being spotted by one of the Slytherins who might report back to Nott, and that would be very dangerous indeed. Nott. That man would spell a lot of trouble for Hermione and Draco, and all those on their side. Draco was already sure that he would be standing together with Hermione, against his father. He had never told anyone, but Narcissa and himself knew that the life under the dark lord had been horrible. It had been traumatizing, and Draco was sure as hell that he wasn't going to be working under a bunch of psychotic killers. However, when he buried his head slightly into Hermione's hair, all his worries vanished and he felt a strange bubble in his chest.

Another thing he had to fix was the influence that Nott had placed upon the Slytherins, particularly the younger ones. If the light side were to succeed in bringing down Lucius, they would have to unite, and the first step was to solve the problems within their own groups, which in Draco's case, was Slytherin. He would have to rally Blaise and Pansy and start to fight their way through Nott's influence, step by step. He would start from the top and work his way down. The first step would be to understand how Astoria and Daphne felt about Nott. Draco believed the older Slytherins would be easier to convince and he would be able to draw them towards the light side with less difficulty since they had seen the horrors of the war. The younger ones however, Draco wasn't sure. He didn't know how they had been brought up, and if they understood the devastation that the war had caused.

Right now though, he had bigger problems, like what to do with his relationship with Hermione. They were already closer than before, but he wasn't sure if she was ready to start another relationship, after the one that had just ended with Weasley. Worse still was the fact that Draco had been her number 1 enemy back when they were kids and he felt like cursing himself for every single time he had insulted her. _Listening to Lucius did me no good, did it? _Honestly, Draco wanted nothing more than to give them a try, seeing as to how he might just die if he didn't get bonded to Hermione before the time was up. _Screw all the other purebloods. I'm giving this a try and I'll be damned if my pride was to get in the way. _It scared him that he wanted to give them a try. He didn't know if it was his Veela that was speaking, or his heart, but a part of him yearned to find love.

He sat down for a long time, just enjoying the silence that this place gave him. He watched the moon hang overhead, the occasional chirping of the crickets coming from the trees around them. He watched the still waters of the Lake, and the rare sight of a tentacle breaking the water surface. He breathed in the fresh night air, and unconsciously began to stroke Hermione's hair. Another gust of wind blew his hair askew. It was getting colder out and Draco felt Hermione burrow deeper into his chest seeking warmth. It was time for them to go. Curfew would be starting in a bit and he didn't want them to be caught outside. He looked down at the sleeping girl, but couldn't bear to wake her up. He shifted himself slowly out of her embrace, and tucked the coat more soundly around her shoulders.

Bending down, he picked up Hermione in a bridal style and started carrying her back to the castle. She was light, even lighter than Draco had expected, and a small smile appeared on his face when Hermione moaned softly and snuggled into him, her small hands gripping his T-shirt tightly. He navigated stealthily through the hallways, ducking into nooks whenever a throng of students passed by. Most were streaming back to their dorms and when Draco was a good distance away from the staircases, his posture relaxed and he let down his guard a little. He carried her into her room and laid her gently down onto the soft mattress. He pulled the covers over her prone form and smiled when she curled up around his arm. Gently shifting his hand away, he smoothed her hair and bent down to lightly kiss her on the forehead, watching her smile in her sleep.

She was so beautiful. Draco felt a sudden surge of love and protectiveness for the girl sleeping next to him. Stroking the pad of his thumb against the back of his hand, he stayed there for a while more, just watching her sleep, and then left for his own room, falling into a deep sleep without much trouble at all.


End file.
